


A Light on the Water

by wingsofthenight



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anti Rhaegar Targaryen, Daenerys Targaryen Is Not a Mad Queen, Dorne deserves better, Gen, Mother Rhoyne, Oberyn Martell Lives, Oberyn Martell is a Good Parent, Queen Rhaenys Targaryen, Rhaenys Targaryen Lives, Rhaenys renamed to Myriah, Rhoynish Water Magic, just getting those tags out of the way now, lots of wordbuilding, no seriously if you like Rhaegar do NOT read this, this will be pretty self indulgent just so you know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:00:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 34,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26385289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingsofthenight/pseuds/wingsofthenight
Summary: Rhaenys Targaryen is saved from the Sack of King's Landing by one of Prince Lewyn's squires. Brought to Sunspear and raised as Myriah, eldest daughter of Oberyn and Ellaria, she and her family find that magic still exists in this world- and that Mother Rhoyne has never and will never abandon her children.
Relationships: Arianne Martell/Daemon Sand, Doran Martell/Mellario of Norvos, Oberyn Martell/Ellaria Sand
Comments: 99
Kudos: 71
Collections: Southern Renaissance (Dorne Renaissance)





	1. Return

**Author's Note:**

> I call this I regret lurking around tumblr and reading a bunch of stuff about how interesting it would be if Rhaenys lived :D
> 
> Anyway, if you've read my other fic, Children of the Western Sun, you've probably seen me mention a water magic au. This is actually not that, but this is not going to replace that. The water magic au I have in mind actually mostly focuses on Oberyn, Ellaria, and their generation, while this will focus more on the younger generation.
> 
> Also seriously, do not read if you like Rhaegar. I'm not sure you'd be able to find a larger group of people that despise him if you tried.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you like this ^^

**Hellholt, 283**

_**Ellaria** _

Ellaria did not consider herself a pessimist. A realist, perhaps, but not a pessimist. But that unfortunately did not keep her from wondering if the atmosphere in Dorne would ever lighten up.

Why would it? They had been forced to march to war with the knowledge that their own Princess Elia and her children held hostage by a madman, one that would not so much as hesitate to slowly burn them to death or worse.

And now they had to live with knowledge that it had all been for nothing. Thousands of their good men- including a member of their own ruling family, Prince Lewyn, their ruling Prince’s own uncle- had been slaughtered by the damned rebels… and Princess Elia and both of her children had been mutilated and slaughtered despite being completely innocent.

She sighed, shivering not from the cool night air despite being on her balcony, before drawing her robe tighter around her body. Her own uncle Ulwyck had survived, but that was only a cold comfort. So many others had not been as fortunate…

And what had happened to the Princess and her children was almost the worst of it all. How dare they call House Uller mad when they happily did things like that and smiled at their corpses? Their House took care of prisoners, yes, but never innocents. One would have to do something truly heinous to be sentenced to their dungeons.

Ellaria sighed again, beginning to turn back into her chambers to get however much sleep she would be blessed with tonight, when something in the distance caught her eye.

She squinted, rubbing her eyes and wondering if she was seeing things, but… no, there was truly a single horse galloping towards the gate.

Ellaria barely allowed herself time to put on a pair of shoes before rushing down to the gate herself. If it was more bad news, she would prefer to hear it now, rather than having it brought to her just as they had when news of the Sack of King’s Landing reached the Hellholt.

When she arrived, her father- still in the same clothes he had worn all day, she noted- was already there, barking orders to open the gate and let the rider in, which the guards did without hesitation, but with alarmed looks when the rider immediately fell from his horse out of what looked like exhaustion. Harmen Uller was opening his mouth, no doubt about to order someone to get a healer, but was cut off by a small voice screaming, “Gally!”

Still on the horse was a small girl, one who couldn’t be more than three years old, crying for her protector, a black kitten in her arms meowing in distress and trying to comfort his mistress.

Leaving the guards to check on the rider, Ellaria ran to the other side of the horse. “Sweetling, sweetling, can you look at me, please?” she asked as softly as she could, making certain that she did not look at all threatening to the toddler and waiting until the little girl looked at her, still sniffing to continue. “Gally will be fine, do not worry for him. A healer will be along soon to check on him, and I am certain that he simply needs some rest. Will you come with me? I can call a bath for you, and find some clean clothes.”

The toddler seemed to hold on to her kitten even tighter. “You won’ hurt me or Balerion or Gally?” she asked suspiciously.

_Balerion?!?_

Suddenly suspecting who this child was- and oh, how she hoped that this girl was who she suspected, that at least one of them had made it out of that cursed city alive- Ellaria shook the thought away and smiled at her. “I will not. You are safe here, sweetling. I swear that you are safe.” Here she paused, realizing that she would need something stronger than just her word with nothing else added to it. Taking a chance and hoping that this would work, she amended, “I swear to Mother Rhoyne that you are safe here.”

The toddler sniffed again, something like hope entering her eyes. “Mother Rhoyne? Mama told me and Egg stories ‘bout her. She said she’s all of our mamas, and she protects us from bad men.”

“Yes, your mama was right. Mother Rhoyne does in fact protect all of her children, which is why I swear to you on her name that you are safe here and that I will never hurt you.”

After a long moment, the little girl adjusted herself, one arm still holding her kitten and the other outstretched, allowing herself to be lifted off of the horse and burying her face in her shoulder as soon as she was held in her arms.

Ellaria looked at her father, who nodded back before ordering a nearby servant to bring up a bath to his daughter’s rooms while he waited with the unconscious rider for the healer.

She made certain not to hurry down the halls to her room, knowing that would likely only alarm the child clinging onto her. Hopefully that would also mean that they would not be waiting long in her rooms before the servants came with a bath and hopefully a clean dress, for this child sorely needed both.

She settled them on a chair, gently stroking the little girl’s black hair, uncaring of how it desperately needed to be washed and combed. “My name is Ellaria,” she said softly, smiling at her when the toddler pulled back enough to stare at her with wide black eyes- eyes a color she had seen before. “My father, Harmen, is the lord of this keep- Lord of the Hellholt, to be precise. What is your name?”

The little girl sniffed, shyly saying, “Rhaenys. This Balerion,” she added, holding up the kitten, who politely meowed at her.

Ellaria couldn’t keep her smile from widening. She had been correct! Though her heart ached, knowing that this little girl had lost her mother and brother in one fell swoop and would carry that grief with her the rest of her life, knowing that at least one of them had lived made the world seem slightly less bitter.

“I am so glad to meet you, sweetling,” she said before looking down and scratching the kitten on the head. “You as well, Balerion.”

The kitten meowed at her again, a pleased sound this time, making Rhaenys giggle.

Before either of them could say anything else, someone knocked at the door, making the toddler tense before Ellaria kissed her head. “It’s only the servants coming with your bath, don't worry,” she assured her before calling out for them to come in.

She hadn’t lied, it was truly just some of their trusted servants, all of whom greeted them with warm smiles before setting up the small bath and leaving her with a couple of small dresses that should hopefully fit.

Once they were gone, Ellaria asked for permission before carefully helping Rhaenys undress, finding that she was wearing a necklace in the shape of a golden sun. “That is a beautiful necklace,” she complimented, smiling.

“Mama gave it to me!” Rhaenys beamed before her smile dropped. “Mama… will we see her in… Sun-spear? Gally told me we see Tío Oby and Tío Dorry, but what about mama? And Egg?”

Ellaria’s heart broke again. “No,” she whispered, not able to lie to her, “I don’t think we will.”

Rhaenys sniffed. “Did the bad men take them?” she asked in the smallest voice she had ever heard.

“No! Mother Rhoyne simply called them home to her halls for she desired their company, but she knew you were needed here, for who else would take care of Balerion?”

The toddler still looked about to cry, but her face hardened into an adorable look of determination as she grabbed the kitten from where he had settled at her feet. “You right! And Balerion needs a bath!”

Without any fanfare, Rhaenys dumped Balerion into the bath, causing him to yowl in protest and Ellaria to start laughing when the little kitten’s mistress climbed in after him and started insistently washing him, demanding that he stop squirming because he was dirty and needed to be clean!

Once the kitten was clean and hiding under a convenient blanket that had fallen to the floor earlier, Ellaria was able to help Rhaenys wash herself, especially with her hair. That had more tangles in it than she had ever seen in her life… but regardless of how bad it was, they eventually managed to clean all the sand, dirt, and sweat that had managed to cling to the little princess.

The dress was plain and a little too large for the girl’s small frame and had most likely been meant for an older child, but it worked well enough for now, and they would no doubt find something more fitting for the girl before they made their way to Sunspear, for they would never keep her survival from her family.

That done, Rhaenys tugged on her skirts. “’Larie… can you stay with me? Don’t wanna be alone,” she whispered, looking so forlorn that Ellaria couldn’t stop herself from kneeling down and hugging her.

“Of course,” she whispered, kissing her on the head.

She led Rhaenys and her kitten into her bedroom, Balerion insistently following his mistress, no doubt wishing to keep her safe from all harm. She lifted the little girl into the bed, pulling the covers over her before lifting the kitten on the bed, who immediately curled up at his mistress’ feet. That done, she got into the bed herself, Rhaenys immediately curling up at her side.

Ellaria hummed to her for awhile as she held her and gently stroked her hair, and eventually Rhaenys fell into what looked to be a peaceful sleep. She wished she could join her, but she couldn’t, not quite yet.

This little girl being alive was something that all of Dorne should be able to celebrate, but unfortunately they could not, for there was too much to take into account.

Given what happened to her mother and brother, if the Usurper learned that Rhaenys was alive to threaten his claim to the throne he would order them to give her up, to send her to the Faith at best and slaughter her like the rest of her family at worst. Dorne would refuse to give yet another one of their princesses up, and the war would continue, only this time it would likely be in their own borders.

She was not the one in charge, but if she was able to advise Prince Doran, she would suggest that they hide Rhaenys, hide her in plain sight as one of the infamous Sand Snakes. She had met Oberyn, spent quite a bit of time with him during the year end celebrations Sunspear had held close to four years ago to celebrate Prince Doran’s first year on the throne-

Ellaria froze as a thought came to her.

Oberyn would immediately claim Rhaenys as his own if he had to, no questions asked. He would never dream of doing otherwise, both to protect his niece and to honor his sister’s memory.

But someone might look at her age and when she entered his care and start to connect the dots, which could give their plot away and bring pain unto their people.

However, if this little girl had someone claim to be her mother, one who had spent time with the man who claimed to be her father but three moons before Rhaenys Targaryen would likely have been conceived, a mother who had been visiting her maternal grandmother in the Summer Isles for well over a year after that meeting, only coming back to the Hellholt a few moons before war had broken out, a time that could neatly include a pregnancy…

Ellaria did not get that much sleep that night, mind too busy imagining all of the outcomes of this decision, but by the time dawn started creeping past the curtains and a knock came at the door, her mind was set.

She left the door to her bedroom open, not wanting the little girl still slumbering peacefully in the bed to wake up and immediately assume she had been abandoned, before crossing her solar and opening the door to reveal her own father.

Harmen Uller did not waste time. As soon as they were settled in a couple of the chairs she had in her solar, he said, “The rider woke an hour ago. He is Galahad, formerly a squire of Prince Lewyn. The Prince left him in the capital, and there he stayed guarding our Princess and her children until the sack. He managed to save Princess Rhaenys, but was unfortunately unable to save her mother or brother. They managed to escape King’s Landing, barely stopping to rest before they reached our keep, for he knows that we will never turn on House Martell and will keep the princess safe. He will recover, he simply needs time to rest.”

Ellaria nodded, completely unsurprised. “She will be glad to know he will be okay. She was worried about him last night.”

Harmen smiled, a slightly grim turn of his lips, but a smile nonetheless. “At least one of them survived.”

“And she will always.”

“Yes. All of Dorne will protect her from the Usurper if need be.”

They would, but Ellaria hoped they did not have to. War had already taken too much from them, and she had no wish for a continuation.

With that in mind, she explained her plan to the Lord of the Hellholt.

Her father did not try to dissuade her from her plans and simply asked, “My daughter, are you certain?” When she nodded, he smiled sadly at her and enveloped her in his arms. “My daughter, I am proud of you. I cannot think of anyone else who would suggest this.”

Ellaria smiled. “I am only doing what anyone should do,” she whispered, thinking of the little girl that had already lost so much, one who deserved nothing but happiness.

Ellaria was Dornish, above anything else. She was an Uller as well, even if she did not bear the name. And both of those things led her to do anything to save such an innocent life, no matter what it brings her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering about the timeline, this is after the sack, obviously, and Dorne has learned about Elia and Aegon's fates. They not happy. Obviously. We'll see the Martells in the next chapter, and an explanation on why I chose Rhaenys to be renamed Myriah.
> 
> Galahad will be fine, don't worry about him. He'll probably get anything he could ever want from House Martell for saving one of their own. And yes, I picked the name Galahad for a reason. If you look up who Galahad was in the King Arthur legends, you'll see why.
> 
> Also, yes, Ellaria was conveniently involved with Oberyn about two months before Elia married Rhaegar, and at most three before Rhaenys was conceived, and was out of the country for awhile so no one would notice that she wasn't pregnant.
> 
> So... I'll admit to still trying to plan this fic out. I kind of want them to say fuck the seven kingdoms and declare Dorne independent after avenging their family with lots of water magic, but Queen Regnant Myriah has a nice ring to it, I'll admit. I could go with either, since I have ideas for both, so what do you guys think? (Don't worry, their enemies will all die regardless of what happens. That is not negotiable.)
> 
> Oh, and this will not be as long as my previous fic, and will probably not be updated anywhere near as often. I still have sequels for that to write after all :'D


	2. Rebirth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellaria arrives at Sunspear with the lost member of House Martell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is just going to be the one that makes me make poor life choices and stay up until midnight, isn't it?
> 
> Anyway, I forgot to mention this last chapter, but for these purposes Rhoynish will be represented by Spanish. It won't be a lot though; I've been meaning to learn Spanish, but have been putting it off because I'm unfortunately too lazy to start :/

**Sunspear**

_**Ellaria** _

“That’s Sunspear?”

“Yes, it is,” Ellaria answered the little girl sitting in front of her on the horse, smiling at her wide-eyed look of awe.

“Tío Oby and Tío Dorry live here?”

“Yes, your tíos live here. They’ll be delighted to see you, sweetling.”

More delighted than Rhaenys could ever imagine, in fact. Ellaria had unfortunately not been able to spend much time with Princess Elia, but Oberyn had spoken so much about his older sister, and she knew that he had traveled to visit her and his niece and nephew many times. In fact, if she remembered the gossip when she had finally returned to the Hellholt correctly, he had stopped there specifically to dote on little Aegon shortly after his birth before heading off to Essos for awhile.

Too bad he hadn’t stayed longer or arrived earlier. He would have just killed that damned “Silver Prince” in some way and made it look like an accident when he realized what he was planning to do to Princess Elia. She would never bring that up to him, however- he was likely already thinking that, unfortunately enough.

But the fact remained that Oberyn would be ecstatic to see that his niece was alive, and Prince Doran likely would as well. It would never assuage all of their grief- Princess Elia and Prince Aegon were still dead, and that would never change- but it would hopefully lighten it, if only the slightest bit.

By the time they had reached Sunspear, going to one of the side gates to the Palace and bypassing the Shadow City, the sun had all but completely disappeared into the dunes. Good. Early enough for people to see her with a little girl, but late enough to take care of if they chose to go with a different plan.

At the very least, the guards that let them in one of the gates seemed to assume that she was bringing Oberyn another daughter. The way that one of them looked about to cry and muttered about how now there’s going to be another sand snake to completely demolishing what remained of his pride in his spear wielding abilities did indicate that.

When Ellaria had introduced herself, she had asked to see both of their Princes. Both of them deserved to see their niece was alive as soon as possible. If she knew that she was there and not in the Water Gardens, she would have asked to see Princess Mellario as well, but they may have sent all of the children to the more secure stronghold, and the Princess Consort with them.

…Actually, now that she thought about it, there was the chance that Prince Doran was the only one in Sunspear. Oh well, if the rest of the family were not here they would be soon enough.

They were led into a chamber just past the courtyard, one of the guards telling them to wait while they informed the Prince that she wished to meet with him. Ellaria settled down in a chair, smiling while she watched Rhaenys chase Balerion around the room and inspect everything, the kitten no doubt making certain that no harm would come to his mistress.

Sweet as the scene was, it was slightly tinged with sadness, for she knew that things would change even more for this sweet little girl. She would be with family, yes, but not her mother and brother. She would likely not be able to bear the name Rhaenys any longer. While she doubted that Princess Elia had chosen the name Rhaenys for her daughter, it had still been her name, and now thanks to the actions of madmen she would not even have that, would likely not even be called a Princess any longer, even though she should have the right to the title.

Perhaps Ellaria was wrong to advocate for this plan, to hide this little girl behind the dubious protection of bastardy, something those outside of Dorne looked down upon, but what option was there?

Knowing that did not help assuage her guilt. Even her claim to the Sunchair, one she would have as a Princess’ eldest child, had been taken from her thanks to what her sire did. She hoped that he was rotting in the worst of the Hells for his actions.

They were not the only two in the room. Galahad had insisted that he come with them, had actually tried to convince them that he was well enough to continue on to Sunspear the same day he had arrived at the Hellholt before the healers had yelled at him and forced him to rest for a few more days, and they had no reason to deny him the opportunity to see his quest to the end. The Martells would no doubt wish to thank him in person, as he had shown more honor at a mere fourteen than grown men years older than him ever would.

She couldn’t help but wonder what he would do now. They had learned that he was the last remaining member of a minor branch of one of the minor houses sworn to the Fowlers, with an ailing grandmother to take care of, and he may simply wish to go back to be with her.

They were only waiting for around a quarter of an hour before the guard came back, telling them that their Ruling Prince would see them now.

After walking up all of the steps to the Prince’s Solar, something that took more time than expected due to Rhaenys insisting that she wanted to walk up them and Balerion dutifully followed his mistress, they were let in by a tall guard with an axe, Areo Hotah if she remembered the name right.

Prince Doran was sitting behind his desk, looking more drawn and tired than she had ever seen him. “Lady Ellaria,” he said, rising to his feet, the tiredness barely creeping into his voice, “welcome to Sun-“

“Tío Dorry!”

All traces of tiredness left his face at those two words and how the little girl ran to her uncle with a beaming smile on her face and clutch onto his leg. “Rhaenys?” he whispered, one hand clutching at his desk and the other reaching down to hesitatingly touch the little girl’s black curls, face the picture of shock.

Rhaenys nodded. “Gally saved me and brought me here!”

Prince Doran stared at his niece for several long moments before looking up at them. “This is Princess Rhaenys, my prince,” Ellaria said softly. “I swear it.”

The prince knelt down, softly asking his niece to lift her foot, no doubt looking for the birthmark on her ankle that Ellaria had noticed while bathing her the first time. “Captain,” he croaked, staring at the birthmark, “get Oberyn and Mellario.”

Ellaria had no idea what Hotah’s reaction was to Rhaenys’ survival was before he left the room, for she was unable to take her eyes off of the reunion between Rhaenys and her eldest uncle, who wrapped his niece in his arms, murmuring something to her in Rhoynish that she couldn’t quite make out with tears in his eyes.

After who knows how long, Ellaria managed to shake off her shock and went to sit on one of the chaises in the solar, dragging Galahad, who was determinedly looking at the wall behind him, away from the door while she was at it.

She had no idea how long they were waiting, but Prince Doran continued to hold his niece and whisper to her for quite awhile, seemingly blind to anyone else in the room, that only changing when the door was practically slammed open.

If Ellaria hadn’t already despised what had happened to Princess Elia and Prince Aegon, seeing Oberyn barge into the room would have done it.

She couldn’t smell any alcohol on him, thank the gods, but that did not mean he was in good shape. He looked to have worn the same clothes multiple days in a row, had deep bags under his eyes, and looked in need of a shave. Far from the collected- well, relatively collected- man many called the Red Viper.

“Doran, what in the name of-“ he started rudely demanding before cutting himself off when he laid eyes on who his brother was holding. His mouth opened and closed several times, looking like he didn’t dare to hope that he was seeing things correctly.

“Oberyn,” Prince Doran croaked, looking up at him with a few tear tracks on his cheeks, “it’s _Rhaenys.”_

Rhaenys pulled away from her eldest uncle, looking at her other uncle with bright eyes. “Tío Oby?”

Before anyone else in the room could so much as blink, Oberyn was clutching onto his niece, shoulders shaking with silent sobs as the little girl clutched onto him just as tight.

Ellaria couldn’t stop from crying herself, especially when Princess Mellario came in and realized what was happening. That princess didn’t try to reach for her niece yet, likely realizing that trying to make her goodbrother let go of her would be a fight that would not be worth it, but she still walked towards her husband with tears of her own escaping her eyes, laying a hand on his shoulder, one that he covered with his own.

She had no idea how long they were waiting, but it had at least taken several minutes before Oberyn finally let go of his niece. Before he could say anything, Rhaenys noticed her aunt and adorably titled her head. “Tía Mellie?” she asked hesitatingly.

Princess Mellario gave her a warm smile. “Yes. I am your Tía Mellie.”

Rhaenys walked over to her aunt and looked up at her for a few seconds before shyly saying, “Like your scarf.”

Her aunt gave a small laugh, kneeling down in front of her and touching her own headscarf, one that was a dark blue with lighter blue patterns. “Thank you, my sweet,” she replied, accepting Rhaenys’ hug.

Meanwhile, Oberyn had seemingly gotten rid of his tunnel vision and finally noticed her. “Ellaria?” he asked, completely baffled. “What…”

“I believe the true question is how,” Prince Doran stated softly.

Ellaria smiled and shook her head. “I do not believe that it is my story to tell,” she said, looking back at Galahad.

The poor knight had completely zoned out, and it was only when silence fell that he blinked and realized that the highest-ranking people in all of Dorne were staring at him expectedly. To no one’s surprise, his tanned face turned bright red all the way up to his curly black hair and seemed to shrink upon himself.

Eventually though, they managed to get full story from him.

Before he had been ordered to the Trident out of fear for Princess Elia’s life, Prince Lewyn had taken Galahad aside and asked him to protect his family. When he had seen the Lannister army enter King’s Landing, he had run to Maegor’s Holdfast to find the royal family. Balerion had found him and led him to where Princess Rhaenys was hiding.

(At that, Oberyn had turned to where the little kitten had wandered up to him asking for pets and declared that he would have all the salmon he could ever want as his reward. Balerion had started purring at that, seemingly pleased by that declaration.)

By the time that he had found Rhaenys, Lannister men had already reached the Holdfast, and he had been forced to make the choice between fleeing with the Princess or trying to save the other two. From the tone of his voice, it was clear that he didn’t necessarily regret the choice he made, but he did wish desperately that there had been some other way to save all of them.

It was at that point that Prince Doran stood and walked over to Galahad himself and took his hands in the Rhoynish expression of trust, for who could use their hands against someone if they were held? “Ser Galahad, my sister would not wish for you to think less of yourself. You saved her daughter. That is the only thing she would have focused on, and it is the only thing that I myself will. Anything that you wish for, name it, and I will do my utmost to give it to you for the aid you have given my house.”

Galahad looked completely shocked. “I uh… I really don’t need anything! I was just doing what the Prince asked of me! I don’t need a reward for that!”

Ellaria had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, an action mirrored by Mellario, who held a slumbering Rhaenys in her arms. Oberyn for his part was unashamedly grinning at watching the scene.

Prince Doran looked amused before letting go of the knight’s hands. “I insist. Is there nothing you wish for? Nothing at all?”

Galahad shifted, looking a little nervous. “Well… My grandmother was originally from Sunspear before moving when she married my grandpa, and she’s kind of wanted to move back after my grandpa died but hasn’t been able to. Could you find a place for her? It doesn’t have to be anything grand, just a simple room in a nice boarding house would be fine!”

Ellaria wasn’t the only one that had to cover her mouth to hide her laughter, for the Ruling Prince literally told him that he could have anything he desired and all he asked for was a single room for his grandmother.

She could see why Prince Lewyn left him behind to protect his niece and her children.

Judging by the way his lips twitched, Prince Doran found it just as amusing. “I am certain that I can find your grandmother much more than a simple room to live in. Perhaps in a house fit for a member of either the palace or city guard and their family?”

“What? But I’m not-“

“If you are protesting due to not being a full-fledged knight, I can knight you right now. If you wish to finish your squireship first, I can find someone else to take you on.”

It was at this point that Oberyn finally spoke up. Or tried to at least. “I could-“

“Do you remember what happened the last time Obara thought that you would take on a squire that wasn’t her?”

Oberyn closed his mouth at that and looked away, saying nothing else.

Galahad just stared at all of them in shock. “I… uh… can I think about this?”

Prince Doran actually smiled at that. “Of course. Mellario, can you find a room for Ser Galahad? And perhaps take our dear niece to our rooms? I will inform you of what else is spoken when I arrive, but right now I believe that she needs a bed.”

Princess Mellario looked about to protest, but she looked down at the sleeping Rhaenys and her face softened. “I will. Just promise me that you will actually go to bed tonight.”

Her husband sighed. “I will.”

With that, Princess Mellario stood, carefully cradling her niece in her arms and ushering Galahad out of the room, Balerion following behind when she informed the kitten that she would ask the kitchens for some treats for him.

That left Ellaria alone with both of the princes- one of whom she personally knew very well, and the other who she had heard so much of from multiple sources.

Prince Doran did not waste any time on pleasantries. “Our first priority is to keep our niece safe, for no doubt the Usurper will make things… _difficult,_ should he learn of her survival.”

“I’ll claim her as mine,” Oberyn immediately stated to no one’s surprise. “I doubt those damned northerners would even bother to think about it.”

“That is true,” Ellaria said, taking a deep breath when both of them turned to look at her, knowing that her words would change everything for her. She was set on her course, however, and would not be dissuaded lightly. “It is true that few would likely think anything of you having another daughter. But some might, for as much as we likely think otherwise, not everyone but us are idiots.” That got a snort from both men in the room. “However, would even they think twice if I claimed that she was my daughter as well? Any daughter I would have had with you at the time would have only been two, possibly three moons older than Rhaenys is.”

Prince Doran did not look surprised at her suggestion. No doubt he had thought of that possibility himself when he had seen her and realized who she had brought.

Oberyn, on the other hand, looked at her like she was crazy. “Are you insane? If you do that and someone finds out, it’ll be your head they call for, same as ours!”

“I know. But if it will help keep the sweet little girl that has already gone through far too much pain safe, I am more than willing to take that chance.”

The two of them stared at each other for several long moments, Ellaria with a calm, even look on her face, showing that she was determined in her course, and Oberyn with a look that she couldn’t quite interpret.

Or at least, one that she couldn’t interpret until he strode towards her and kissed her.

She certainly wasn’t about to complain about that, and happily returned said kiss.

They may have admittedly gotten a little too much into the kiss and forgotten that there was someone else in the room.

Or at least they did until they heard something slam on the desk and hurriedly let go of each other to find Prince Doran staring at them with a displeased look on his face. “Oberyn. How many times do I have to remind you that you have rooms of your own, and you may kiss people all you wish there where no one else is?”

Oberyn just raised an eyebrow at his brother. “That’s rich coming from you, considering what I caught you and Mellario doing in the gardens last year.”

The eldest prince quickly cleared his throat and changed the topic. “Lady Ellaria, are you certain you wish to take this course of action?”

She nodded. “I am. My father agreed to this when I suggested this to him. And I was conveniently visiting my grandmother in the Summer Isles for what would have been the entire duration of my pregnancy and for what would have been the first few moons of our child’s life, and conveniently would have missed Oberyn and would not have been able to inform him of said child in person due to that.”

Both princes looked incredulous at that, and then Oberyn seemingly did the math and realized that she was in fact correct. “…Huh. You’re right.”

Prince Doran looked slightly skeptical, but simply shook his head. “You are correct that very few would question it. My brother’s reputation has it’s uses.”

“Thank you!”

Did she just see the Ruling Prince of Dorne roll his eyes at his brother? Considering some of her own reactions to her uncle, who due to their ages was much closer to a brother, she could believe it.

“I believe you two should discuss things. Or create yet another child to help Arianne give me gray hair. I care not, so long as you leave my solar to do it.”

They both snorted again, turning to leave when Prince Doran called out, “Lady Ellaria? _Thank you.”_

Ellaria simply turned and smiled. “There is nothing to thank me for,” she said before leaving the room and pulling Oberyn with her.

It was not a long walk until they reached his rooms, which Ellaria looked over, seeing that it was in a much better state than she would have assumed. Yes, it was a bit of a mess, but better than she had expected, and Oberyn was quick enough to clear off a chaise for them to sit on.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes, before… “Why?”

Ellaria looked at her companion, taking time to think of her answer. She knew that he didn’t want another explanation of how logical this was, and so completely discarded that argument.

“I told you, she has already been through enough,” she said softly. “I will never be able to replace her mother, but if I can help alleviate some of her grief, even if it’s only to keep her safe… why wouldn’t I take that path?”

Oberyn let out a breath, closing his eyes and shaking his head with a small smile on his face. “Ellaria, you are far too good for this world.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“Far too good for me then.”

“Oberyn, I don’t expect anything from you except friendship. Yes, we had a fun couple of moons together three years ago, but I do not expect us to continue that.”

“I was going to ask you if you wished to stay longer before you heard from your grandmother.”

Ellaria blinked, not expecting that.

For his part, Oberyn blinked, and then groaned and buried his head in his hands.

After a moment, she smiled. “I would not have minded that.”

“You wouldn’t have?”

“No,” she said, scooting closer to him and leaning on him, smile widening. “Your daughters are adorable, after all!”

That got him to laugh, a full laugh that relieved her more than she could ever say to hear. “Tyene found an eel to torment all of the children in the Water Gardens again three moons ago, and that’s only the latest one of her and Arianne’s pranks we’ve found proof of, we have to check Nym over every single time she tries to do something because she keeps hiding knives on her, Sarella keeps making us explain literally everything because she can’t handle not knowing everything, and as Doran mentioned earlier I can’t take on a squire until we convince Obara not to make the poor sap’s life a living hell.”

“Like I said, they’re adorable,” Ellaria insisted. “I will likely be here for a couple of moons regardless of what happens. I would very much be interested in seeing where things go between us.”

Oberyn smiled at her. “I would as well.”

“It is settled then! We will see how things go while we acclimate sweet Rhae-“ her face fell as she said that, suddenly remembering something. “she won’t be able to go by Rhaenys ever again, will she,” she whispered.

Her companion took in a shaky breath, looking away. “Doran no doubt hopes she will one day,” he whispered, “but I don’t ever want her to again. She’d likely go back to that name if she claimed that throne, and as far as I am concerned that damned thing is cursed and has been since the moment it was created. All of the curses that damned dragon who couldn’t be satisfied with what he had that his dying opponents threw at him were woven into it. I don’t- I don’t want my niece to carry that curse with her the rest of her days.”

“I understand,” Ellaria said, leaning her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. “I have to agree, but in the end it will be her choice.”

“That it will,” Oberyn said softly, turning slightly to wrap an arm around her and bury his own face in her fair. “I just hope that whatever she chooses, it will not only be out of obligation.”

“I am certain it will not. If you do not mind me asking… did you have a name in mind for her?”

A sharp, ragged breath, and then he said, “Myriah. It was… It was the name Elia always wished to give a daughter. Even after she married that damned piece of shit that never deserved her.” He sighed before adding, “The first Rhaenys died at the Hellholt. Let Myriah, daughter of Elia, rise from this Rhaenys, and find her own path in life.

“It is a beautiful name,” she said, moving to kiss his cheek.

They didn’t even make it to an actual bed, but somehow it was the most relaxing sleep Ellaria had experienced the past few weeks, and even though the next day would be full of explanations to the newly renamed Myriah and convincing her that they loved her and wanted her to have the best life they could provide, it looked like Oberyn had as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have three guesses into what happens with Oberyn and Ellaria in the next three months and the first three don't count. Doran is not surprised at all.
> 
> So... you might think Ellaria thinking that Rhaegar should have been killed long before he was is ooc. (Or at least for book Ellaria. Show Ellaria is not Ellaria, they simply stole her name.) I don't really think so. If he had died, it would have stopped the war since it was started by him running off with Lyanna Stark. She's not naïve enough to believe that no bloodshed will ever happen, she's just opposed to senseless bloodshed- which is what she fears would happen to the sand snakes in canon if they don't let go.  
> Ugh, I hope that made sense, I'm typing this up at midnight because I've lost control of my life >.<
> 
> Rhaenys is the only one that's gotten away with calling Doran Dorry. Unfortunately for him, all of her cousins will start to call him that from now on. Even Obara because he gets this exasperated look on his face and it amuses him.
> 
> Oberyn had a bit of bad tunnel vision when he entered the room. Let's give him a bit of a break, he just found out that his beloved niece was alive, he's usually much more obsevent.
> 
> Speaking of... Ellaria had no way of knowing, but Oberyn has pretty much been locked in his rooms for at least a fortnight, possibly as far back as when they first learned of Elia's fate, because Doran knows that he is likely to do something stupid in his grief and doesn't want to lose him too.
> 
> This is actually the first time Mellario has met her niece. When Doran visited Dragonstone, Mellario was pregnant with Quentyn. She did not want to get on a ship. At all. Everyone bowed to her wishes and did not force the matter.
> 
> So... before I get any questions on this... Aegon is unfortunately dead. Young Griff will not be showing up here. You can imagine that Essos looks closer to the show plotline and thus he never existed in the first place, he was a Blackfyre, Connington died and Aegon got adopted by a nice couple that loved him, or whatever you want. He won't appear in this. I'm sorry, I just can't juggle his plotline as well even if I'd think it'd be interesting...
> 
> Also, as you may have figured with the tags, Mellario will be sticking around. As Doran will not be supporting Viserys' claim over his own niece's (and her decision on whether to claim it or not is years away and by that point Viserys will sadly be close to what we see at the start of the books), he's not going to be sending Oberyn to sign a marriage pact, and thus he's not going to think about sending Arianne away. He'll also be talking to her more, which I plan to show in the next chapter.
> 
> Anyway, if my sleep deprived brain forgot to add something important, please tell me!


	3. Advantageous Negotiations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doran and Mellario talk about the future. Oberyn and Ellaria talk about the future. Everyone talks about the future!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, unlike CotWS, I have decided occasionally have more than one PoV in some chapters. Each section with a PoV chance will be labeled with who's telling it.
> 
> Also, since I'm here, it's been a little less than six months since the Sack of King's Landing, and five since Ellaria brought Myriah to Sunspear.

**Sunspear, 284**

**_Mellario_ **

Mellario would fully admit that there were some things about how Dorne is run that she would never completely understand. It was why she gave no protest to Arianne being raised in the Dornish way, even though part of her wished for the Norvoshi way. The future Ruling Princess could not be anything but Dornish, after all.

(Even apart from that, she could never stop the feeling that something other than the God of the Norvoshi laid claim to her daughter- to her son as well, but especially to her daughter. And it was definitely not the Seven That Are One.

She had met her husband’s family among the Orphans of the Greenblood, and they still believed that Mother Rhoyne was alive and looked after her children. He had never directly said it to her, but she knew that her own husband was more inclined to believe in the Goddess of the Rhoynar than in the Seven, especially after the what had happened.

Perhaps they were right, and Arianne had been blessed by Mother Rhoyne. She would not deny that the thought pleased her, for she hoped it meant that she was destined to be the great Ruling Princess she had longed for her to be since the moment she first felt her stir in her womb.)

However, she did not believe that this was one of those times.

Which is why Mellario barged into her husband’s solar, unimpeded by any of the guards for she was one of the only two people that could do so without consequences. “Are you daft?” she demanded the moment the door closed.

Doran stared at her, slightly uncomfortably. “…I am unsure how to answer that, for I do not know what you are referring to.”

She pinned him with a Look at that. “I am referring to what you have chosen to do for the Usurper’s minder’s visit. Why are you not sending the children to the Water Gardens? Why are you not sending Ellaria- who is four moons pregnant, might I add- there, with Oberyn accompanying them? What is keeping them here supposed to accomplish?!?”

Doran sighed, looking away from her with his eyes closed. She was about to snap at him, demand an answer, when he said, “I must show that House Nymeros Martell is united. Oberyn staying here, standing on my left when Arryn comes in, will show that I trust my brother still and that I will not send him away, nor so much as entertain any suggestion to force him from my side. Not only do I not wish to deal with his refusal to leave Ellaria alone given her state, having her here will throw a wrench into any “suggestions” that he marry some lacky of theirs to attempt to keep me in line, for she has been his official paramour for two moons.”

That Ellaria had been, something Mellario would not deny had given her some relief. They were two different people with different interests and tastes, but she was still someone that she could talk to, one who understood being a newcomer to a strange land. Ellaria had grown up with her mother on her merchant ship and with her extended family in the Summer Isles, only moving to the Hellholt at age ten. While the woman freely admitted that she felt more at home in Dorne than she had elsewhere, she still missed the Summer Isles at times.

Even more than that, it meant that there was another woman in the family she could spend time with. She would never replace Elia, who had been so helpful her first years in Dorne and was- had been the sister she had never realized she wanted, but it was a small balm, one that she appreciated all the same.

“And the children staying here?”

“If they are here, there is less of a chance that they will suspect who we are hiding, and demand that we give her up.” Doran whispered, head bowing.

Mellario let out a ragged breath at that, closing her eyes for a brief moment before walking forward to stand next to her husband, placing an arm around his shoulders. “Myriah will be safe, do not worry,” she reassured him.

Myriah, as Rhaenys had been renamed- according to both Doran and Oberyn, it had been Elia’s chosen name for a daughter- had settled in better than she had dared to hope. It had not been perfect however, not at all.

She was the one Myriah ran to when nightmares came, that was saved for Oberyn- who she had been fairly quick to call papa even in private, something that made her curse Rhaegar even more than she already did- and Ellaria.

Her niece had come to her once two moons ago, however, and it had made her cry once she had left, for Myriah had come to her feeling guilty that she saw Ellaria as a mother, asking if her mama would be mad at her for that. Mellario had reassured her that Elia would not have been upset at all, that she would only be glad that her daughter was loved. Myriah had been relieved by that, and even in private she now called Ellaria “Madre,” but that conversation had still broken her heart.

Doran sighed, lifting a hand to cover her own. “I do not worry that any will tell of her survival. The people that know will not betray us lightly.”

He was correct. Outside of their immediate family (or at least, their immediate family barring Quentyn and Sarella, who had been deemed too young), few knew of Myriah’s survival.

The Ullers knew, obviously. They would never tell a soul unless ordered to by the Prince himself, for not only would it likely mean the death of a daughter of their blood, she had found that the Ullers were considered to be one of the Martells’ most loyal bannermen, and with very few exceptions had been since Nymeria of Ny Sar had come to Dorne.

Lord Manfrey, her husband’s second cousin, and his wife Malena were another two. They were family, after all.

The same applied to the Gargalens. Tremond and Enora were Doran, Elia, and Oberyn’s own uncle and aunt, had known them all since birth, and had been near inconsolable after learning of what had happened during the Sack, especially as they had lost their youngest son, Nasyr, in this damned war. When they had come to Sunspear on Doran’s invitation but two moons ago, their relief that Myriah had lived had been near as strong as Doran and Oberyn’s themselves.

A few of their Orphan relatives were also in the know. Lady Sarita, their aunt- or rather cousin, but in practice aunt- and her two eldest children knew, had come from the Greenblood at the same time as the Gargalens in fact.

And finally, there was Gisella, Ser Galahad’s grandmother, who had arrived from the Red Mountains but a moon ago and settled into a nice house in the Shadow City. She had willingly sworn herself to secrecy, swearing on both the Seven and on Mother Rhoyne that no word of Myriah’s survival would ever leave her lips. She was extremely proud of her grandson, and had teared up with pride when she learned that he had accepted a position in House Martell’s own royal guard once he had finished his squireship under Manfrey.

Doran sighed again, leaning towards her for comfort, something that relieved her. Her husband kept locking himself in this solar, throwing himself at any work that crossed his path in his grief, refusing to let anyone in, especially after he had been forced to confine Oberyn to his rooms for fear that he would do something foolish and he would lose another sibling. “I only worry of what this _visit_ will bring. Arryn will no doubt threaten us to keep the Usurper’s ‘peace’ without any reparations given, for they no doubt feel we have no allies.”

Mellario paused at that, a thought coming to her at that mention. “Perhaps that is true… regarding the other Westerosi countries, that is.”

Her husband caught onto her meaning immediately, and the grin he gave in return was far more dangerous than any of his brother’s poisons could dream of being.

Said danger was proved two days later, when the current Hand of the King (and Mellario felt comfortable in claiming that Oberyn was to blame for the mocking saying attached to that title coming to mind when she had seen them) came to Sunspear. They had delighted in reminded them of all of their contacts in Essos, which was many.

After all, her own family was considered to be very influential in Norvos and had extended family in some of the other Free Cities, and both Doran and Oberyn had made many friendships during their own travels in Essos, many of whom they were still in contact with.

Watching Arryn suddenly have to reevaluate everything he had planned to offer Dorne at that news had been the most satisfying thing she had witnessed in several moons. Especially after how at the beginning of their “negotiations” he had tried to suggest that she leave the room to let the men talk, as she was but a mere woman, something that she despised more than anything else.

Two days later, Arryn was leaving Sunspear with his tail between his legs, having been forced to give more concessions than he had wished as they had taken full advantage of how he had suddenly found himself wrong-footed.

First was repaying Elia’s substantial dowry. Not only that, but he had agreed to give them what would have been Princess Rhaenys’ dowry, which would have been even more substantial than her mother’s, as she was the eldest and only daughter of the man that had unfortunately been heir to the throne. Bankrupting the Usurper was the least he deserved.

And bankrupting it would be. They had no doubt that he had always planned to lower the taxes they were forced to send to him, but he had seemingly panicked the slightest bit and lowered them even farther. If she was correct, it was a near 40% decrease- extremely substantial for certain, one that she herself already had plans to take advantage of, and Doran no doubt had even more in mind.

Even better than that, he had been forced to give more concessions than Daeron the Good had. They were all seemingly little things, but they would add up. For they were little, but they included such things as the ability to legitimize any child they wanted, the outright authority to negotiate trade between Dorne and other places in Essos without any input from King’s Landing rather than those kings simply choosing not to stop them, and the authority to set their own prices for goods.

As they watched the ship sail away from their lands from the Prince’s Solar, Mellario exchanged a smirk with her husband. Yes, this will suit their purposes nicely.

* * *

**_Oberyn_ **

“Thank you for not making a scene while the Usurper’s minder was here.”

Oberyn snorted as he took off his shirt, regretted it when he almost got stuck in it thanks to said action, and threw it to the floor before turning to face his lover. “What would making a scene have accomplished?”

Ellaria just wryly smiled at him from where she was already reclining on their bed, one hand resting on her swelling stomach. “Nothing, and I am very glad that you have finally realized that.”

He scoffed, taking off the rest of his clothing before crawling in bed beside her and pulling her towards him. “My brother has a point sometimes,” he reluctantly admitted, resting a hand on her stomach where their child was growing.

That had been a development he had never expected. He had known it was possible, that moon tea and other contraceptives did not always work and there was always a risk of a child if you had penetrative sex, but he had never expected her to suggest actively trying to have a child but a moon after they had gotten together this time.

When he had asked why, Ellaria had smiled at him softly and told him that regardless of what happened between them, she knew that he would be a _father_ to her children, rather than simply someone who would want nothing to do with them. Marriage was inconsequential to her when compared to that. What could he say to that? He loved all of his daughters, and he wouldn’t say no to another one, especially given how all five of her older sisters would adore her.

Just as they already adored Ellaria herself. About three moons after she had first come to Sunspear, after Myriah had been more or less settled in, Obara had barged into his rooms when she knew that Ellaria was with the youngest snakes and asked him if he was really going to be stupid enough not to ask Ellaria to stay this time around because he was he had already been dumb enough not to the first time she had been around and he wasn’t going to get a third chance.

Trying to tell his eldest daughter that Ellaria had left to help take care of her grandmother in the Southern Isles and would have left regardless of what he said had no effect.

In fact, he hadn’t even been the one to actually bring up the fact that he wanted her to stay.

Two moons ago, they had been sleeping peacefully. They were all but certain that Ellaria was in fact pregnant, and only the fear that they were wrong kept them from getting a midwife to check her over quite yet. And her wish to keep it from her father for a little longer. Harmen Uller was a harsh man, the perfect Lord of the Hellholt in many ways, and yet he was a surprisingly doting grandfather. Myriah wasn’t even his own blood and yet she was sent as many letters and gifts as he could manage…

But the fact remained that they had both been asleep when they were awakened by someone banging on the door and crying “Papa!”

Unfortunately used to children waking him up while crying, Oberyn had gotten out of bed, thrown a pair of loose pants on, and was opening the door not even ten seconds after the knocking started, revealing his current youngest child, who threw herself at him while sobbing.

He immediately knelt down and took Myriah into his arms, carefully rocking her in his arms and running a hand through her hair, murmuring soothing words to her in Rhoynish and trying to hide his own grief at having to do this.

Not long after he had taken her into his arms, Ellaria was there as well, kneeling next to them and rubbing a gentle hand over her back, her eyes reflecting many of his own emotions.

After a moment, Myriah hiccupped and looked over at his lover, her tear-filled eyes confused. “Madre?” she whispered.

Both of the adults startled at that, not having expected that, for she had never called Ellaria her mother in private. “Yes, my little snake?” she asked after a moment of getting over her surprise.

“Thought… thought you’d be in your rooms.”

“These are my rooms,” Ellaria said, slightly confused.

Oberyn let out a breath, realizing what the “problem” was. “Here in Dorne, partners tend to share the same bedchamber,” he explained softly.

Elia had been aggrieved at that fact during the early days of her marriage. She had seen how their own parents, how Doran and Mellario, how other members of their family shared a bed even when they were not being intimate with each other, and had been disgruntled that she would not get that this early in her marriage.

That had only lasted until that damned tourney. After, she had been nothing but relieved at that fact.

“Oh,” Myriah said, before turning back to him. “Papa… you won’ leave me?” she asked, her small voice showing that she didn’t expect a positive answer.

That hesitant question practically shattered his heart. “No. I will never abandon you, or your sister, I swear to Mother Rhoyne,” Oberyn swore, doing his best to keep his voice level and tears from falling.

This was all Rhaegar’s fault. If that damned piece of shit had just done his duty rather than deciding to run off with a random kid and fuck a kid into her rather than save his own wife and kids… he should be glad that the Usurper killed him so quickly. If he’d gotten his hand on his dear goodbrother, he would have died in agony, slowly, over the course of at least a fortnight. It would have been exactly what he deserved.

Myriah sniffed, still looking up at him with wide eyes. “Bad men came ‘cause _he_ left mama,” she said. “I don’… I don’ want anything bad to happen to Madre or sissies.”

“I would never leave any of you! I love all of you far too much to do that!”

It was only after they had calmed her down and she had fallen asleep between them that Oberyn finally realized what he had indirectly said, and he immediately tensed up, forcing himself to look at his lover.

Ellaria had simply stared at him with an amused look on her face. “I believe you said something about how you loved me?”

He groaned as quietly as he could and put a hand over his face.

She had simply laughed at him, leaning over to kiss him before smiling tenderly at him. “Do you really think that I would purposely let you put a child in me if I felt nothing but friendship or mere lust towards you?” she whispered.

He did not like to remember Myriah coming to him, crying thanks to the actions of a madman, but he did like to remember the way that he had two of the dearest women in the world with him that night, both of whom he could consider to be his own family.

Ellaria laughed at him, making him turn his attention back to the conversation at hand. “Yes, occasionally your brother has good ideas, little as you sometimes want to admit it,” she teased, making him scoff.

They laid there for awhile before Ellaria asked, “Are you going to ask Doran to legitimize all of the sand snakes now?”

“What? Why?”

She sat up to stare at him with an unimpressed look on her face. “Oberyn, you grew up as a prince. You’ve never known what it is like to know that you have what you have thanks to your parent’s grace. You and I both know that if anything happened to you Doran would take care of the girls and Arianne after him, but it is still something that will hang over their heads as long as they live, regardless of what you do. You have the chance to change their status, for your brother will legitimize them if you but ask.”

“Do you really feel that way?” he asked, staring at her in surprise.

Ellaria sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her hand where her child laid. “No. My position and that of my children is secure. But I am fully aware that if things had changed for my father, it would be different.”

Oberyn stared at her for several seconds longer before looking away, slightly ashamed. “I never thought of it that way,” he whispered. “I always thought that they would have freedom in their bastardy- freedom to be whoever they wished to be.”

“You had no reason to, and I doubt that Obara or Nym would ever bring it up to you, and they’re the eldest and most likely to press it at this point. But I am telling you this now. They’re far enough down the line of succession that they’re unlikely to be tied to the Sunchair, and both Myriah and this little one would come before them given our laws.”

He bit his lip in a gesture of nervousness that he would never do outside of their family, a thought coming to his mind. “I will talk to Doran as soon as I am able. And…”

“And?”

“And if you wish… we could discuss your own status. Make what we have more permanent.”

Ellaria stared at him for what in his nervousness felt like hours but was in reality likely only a few seconds, before a smile broke out on her face. “Was that a marriage proposal spoken by the Red Viper himself?”

“Why do you only use that title when messing with me?” he muttered, scowling to try and hide his feelings and likely failing.

“Because I actually know you. But, to answer your question… I would not mind that. I didn’t- I never quite expected to be a bride one day.”

“Why? I’m the one that no one would expect to marry.”

She shrugged before leaning forward to kiss him.

Once their kiss had finished, Oberyn reluctantly stopped himself from fully taking her into his arms and continuing on, for there was one final thing he had to say. “I don’t want a wedding in the sept,” he whispered.

Ellaria’s face softened at that, kissing him again, gentler this time. “I do not either, for I have never held to those gods,” she whispered.

“Good,” he said, turning back to fully consummate their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like a lot of Mellario's problems boiled down to believing that she wasn't involved in anything- not her children's lives, and also not in her husband's life. Doran, I feel, is very private in his grief, not really letting anyone in. At some point, Mellario just could not take it anymore. Here though, she does know more than she did in canon, and is more assured in her place at her husband's side.
> 
> I headcanon that Doran, Elia, and Oberyn's great-grandmother was an Orphan of the Greenblood, for the son of Maron and Daenerys Martell realized that above all he must look to be Dornish and not that he takes after his mother's heritage.. We will see more of this heritage and that side of their family in the future.
> 
> Just so you know, Myriah does not remember Rhaegar so much as remember his absence and what that meant for her mother and brother. She does remember Elia though, and to her she will always be "mama," which is why Ellaria will only ever be known as "madre" to her.
> 
> Just so you know, the negotiations was based around the fact that Dorne couldn't afford to start another fight with the throne, but the throne can't really afford to alienate Dorne either given their connections since that would kind of make a lot of Essos annoyed, and Jon Arryn at least realizes that's a terrible idea. Most of what they got were unofficial prerogatives that Dorne had to begin with though, they're simply in writing now.
> 
> I feel bad that I didn't write the meeting between Doran, Mellario, and Jon Arryn, but... uh... let's just say that I have Opinions on the man and it kind of turned into a bit of a bash fest.
> 
> Obara loves her dad. She's also completely unimpressed by how she thinks he's stupid sometimes and is blunt enough to tell him.
> 
> Honestly in a better timeline Oberyn and Robert could bond over how much they despise Rhaegar. Too bad that will never happen because Tywin was a complete and utter moron. (I mean... at the very least he should have left Elia alive and killed the mountain and Lorch on his own accord but nope, he had to be greedy.)
> 
> So. Legitimizing the Sand Snakes.  
> Like Ellaria pointed out, Oberyn genuinely has what he believes to be the good of his daughters in mind, but he has no idea of what it is like to be a bastard. She does, and that's why she's pushing for him to ask for legitimization for them. 
> 
> Also, she was not going to ask for her herself to be legitimized to marry him, simply that one of her own daughters be named an Uller to inherit after her uncle, but Oby decided that nope, if he was doing that he was going to marry her as well because he's not about to try and find someone else. He knows he's not that lucky.
> 
> More on what weddings Dorne recognizes next chapter! This family needs some happiness after all, and a wedding will definitely help ^^


	4. For Those Still Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doran talks to Oberyn, and Oberyn and Ellaria make their own vows to each other.

**Sunspear**

**_Doran_ **

Doran still remembered the day that he saw his youngest sibling for the first time.

It had been three moons after his birth, when Princess Loreza had called her eldest son home from Salt Shore so their entire family could be there when his brother was presented to the court.

He had received multiple letters from his parents, telling him of how healthy his newest sibling was and how they were already certain that he would make much mischief the moment he learned how to crawl, but the image in his mind had been of Mors and Olyvar, of his two other brothers, both of whom had been so small and quiet even before the cursed days he heard his mother’s wails when they were found unmoving in their cribs. Neither of them had made it to their own presentations, but he could not keep his fear away.

(Elia… his beloved little sister had been the same as them at birth, but she had lived, had even thrived. Thrived until her light had been cruelly snuffed out by madmen who would one day pay for their crimes.)

When he had walked into their family’s private solar, he had found out how wrong he was.

His mother had held a fussy babe in her arms, trying to calm him down when she laid eyes on him. She had beamed at him, gesturing for him to come closer. “Doran, this is your brother, Oberyn,” she had said as she placed his brother in his arms.

When he had held him in his arms, when Oberyn had looked up at him with wide but curious black eyes- the color of their father’s, but the shape of their mother’s- looking so healthy…

It was only when his brother had made a confused and alarmed noise and reached up to pat at his face that he realized he had let a few tears slip. His mother had simply given him a soft smile and softly cupped his cheek with her hand, asking him to take care of his brother.

That had been a tall order at times. Oberyn seemed to take pride in causing as much chaos as possible, only learning the slightest bit of restraint upon getting unofficially exiled from Dorne and later finding his daughters.

And yet, Oberyn had also always been the babe whose first reaction upon seeing his older brother cry was to try and comfort him. As exasperating as he could be, it was difficult to not quickly forgive him for his actions.

When they had learned of what happened during the Sack of King’s Landing Oberyn had raged at their sister’s, at his almost twin’s fate, had advocated that they continue the war in his grief.

Doran, Elia’s older brother, had agreed with him, and even now longed to gain vengeance against the Usurper.

Doran, the Prince of Dorne, had known that Dorne could not handle a continued war, known that it would only bring further bloodshed to his people.

And Doran, Oberyn’s older brother, had been terrified that he would lose his only remaining sibling, that he would have nothing but a stone memorial in the crypts to remind him of his final brother like all that was left for his other siblings.

That terror had been what made him order the guards to confine Oberyn to his rooms, to keep him from making any foolish actions in his grief. He had borne the brunt of his brother’s rage and grief when he had visited, but he could deal with venomous words so long as his last sibling _lived._

He had wondered if he would ever be able to let his brother out, but thankfully some small light had arrived back into Sunspear when the Lady Ellaria of House Uller had arrived with their beloved niece, the light of Elia’s life, in tow.

Myriah- for that was the name she should have always been known as, for it was the one that their sister had wished for a daughter to bear- had brought some joy back into their lives, and especially to his brother.

Oberyn had immediately offered to claim Myriah as his own daughter to no one’s surprise- including Ellaria, who had offered to claim that Myriah was her own daughter with him, knowing that so long as they claimed her to be but three moons older than she was the timeline would match up.

Ellaria choosing to stay with their family, to become a permanent fixture in Sunspear by becoming his brother’s paramour, had also relieved him. Despite the reputation that the Ullers held, Ellaria was in fact a lovely woman, one who was in no way a pushover and had a spine of steel as he had quickly found out, but who was also genuinely kind and courteous, who loved her step-daughters as if they were her own.

Having seen them together for five moons, Doran had not been surprised when, two days after the Usurper’s minder had left Dorne, he had been approached by his family, asking for Ellaria to be legitimized so they could marry. Even if he was not expecting yet another niece, he would not have been shocked, for he had seen the way they acted around each other.

He had also been completely unsurprised when they had insisted on having a Rhoynish ceremony, to marry under the eyes of Mother Rhoyne rather than the Seven. Oberyn he knew had never truly believed in the Faith of the Seven, something that had only seemed to have increased after what had happened, and from what he knew of Ellaria she did not believe in them either.

Unlike the other countries in Westeros, with the possible exception of the North as he was unsure of what the exact situation between the Old Gods and the Faith was there, Dorne considered marriages made in all religions to be equal. It had been so since the Rhoynar had first come to Dorne. In fact, while it was not the norm, it was not uncommon for their family or other Houses close to the Greenblood to marry in the name of Mother Rhoyne. The only reason their great-grandparents wed in the sept along with a ceremony under her eyes was because his great-grandfather’s uncle had been the current king. The Good they may call that particular king, but they had still not believed that he had any place in a ceremony honoring Mother Rhoyne.

The fact that the ceremony would be shorter and far less ostentatious no doubt played a part in their decision, though they would not be free from a large celebration regardless of their wishes. Not only was the marriage of a Prince a joy that Dorne desperately needed to celebrate after all the grief they had been dealt with, it was Doran’s own brother that was marrying. He felt it was his responsibility to celebrate it as they deserved.

With that in mind, as soon as they had received word from the Ullers, Doran had sent word to the rest of the Dornish houses, inviting them to Sunspear for the marriage.

Not everyone had chosen to come due to the short notice. Three moons were not long, but due to Ellaria’s pregnancy they could not afford to put it off for longer. As it was he had to deal with Ellaria, Oberyn, Mellario, Obara, Nym, Arianne, and Tyene all being miffed at him for leaving it this long, not to mention Usha, the head midwife at the Water Gardens. He would prefer not to add to their displeasure.

But many had come despite that, including the Lady Estella Vaith, the wife of Anders Yronwood.

The very day that the woman had arrived, she had asked to speak to Mellario alone.

Doran had not been invited to their meeting. Even if he had, he would not have joined them. There were some things that his presence would only make more difficult, and he had already done enough harm by not informing his wife of Quentyn’s fostering before their wedding.

The two women had talked for over an hour before Mellario had returned to their rooms, Doran having been tricked by his own daughter into taking a break by her wanting him to read to her and then deciding he made a nice pillow for her nap. He hadn’t had the heart to move Arianne back to the nursery, nor was there anything pressing that he must take care of in the immediate future. His daughter would soon believe herself to be too old to spend time with him like this, and he could not bring himself to deprive the both of them of these precious moments.

Mellario had stared at them for several long moments, seemingly making certain that their daughter was fast asleep, before sighing and removing her veil and settling down next to them. After a further moment she said quietly, “I will never agree with Quentyn being sent away to Yronwood. I fully realize that fostering is a Westerosi custom that is meant to form friendships and relationships between the different Houses, but it is not what I ever expected for my own children.”

Doran simply nodded. There was nothing he could say to that, for they had this argument before.

His wife sucked in a breath before continuing, “I am relieved that Lady Estella is the woman she seems to be, however. Our son will not lack care, I know that much.”

He let out a breath before reaching over and taking one of her hands, feeling her squeeze it back.

For the first time since she had found out about the deal he had made with the Yronwoods, it truly felt like they were moving past this obstacle.

Two days later, he still had a light heart when he sought out his younger brother in his rooms on the eve of his marriage.

Dornish tradition stated that the man and woman marrying were not to spend the night together in one of their rooms. As one would expect, that led to a further, unofficial tradition where couples found loopholes to get around it. He and Mellario themselves had spent the night before their own wedding in an unused servant’s room, though as they had married in a quiet Norvoshi ceremony for her parents before returning to Dorne it had not been strictly necessary.

Said tradition was waived when the woman was heavily pregnant, which Ellaria was. Oberyn had been disappointed by that fact, having no doubt concocted some mischief to keep with the tradition, but even he had admitted that it was best not to tempt things and he’d just convince one of the snakelings to go with his plans when they married.

Doran had half expected to see all five of his nieces in the room, for while the sun had set and the ceremony would start at dawn it was still early enough that they may not have been sent to their rooms quite yet. However, when he was called into the room after knocking (for he knew better than to barge into his brother’s rooms by this point) there was a distinct lack of little snakes. Instead, he found his brother and his soon-to-be wife sitting together, Ellaria having her back massaged by her lover, something that Doran had done for Mellario many times. Ellaria’s stomach had not grown near as large as Mellario’s had by this point for whatever reason, but he was not foolish enough to believe that her state was not discomforting.

It was a far more domestic scene than he had expected to find his brother in even a year ago. It was not that he believed him incapable of it, so much that he had never quite expected him to wish for something like this. His nieces had always seemed to be enough for his brother.

They exchanged greetings before Ellaria, sensing that they wished to talk in private, announced that she wished to get ready for bed, for they would have an early day tomorrow. She gave her lover a kiss (thankfully a quick one) before heading off, leaving the two brothers alone.

Doran broke the silence first, dryly saying, “I never expected this day to come.”

Oberyn rolled his eyes at him. “The day hasn’t come. There’s still a few hours left in this day.”

Ah, the usual sarcastic replies. More reassuring evidence that things had returned to some form of normal. That lightened his heart even more.

“I am glad that you chose Ellaria.”

His brother snorted. “More like she chose me. Can’t figure out why she would.”

Doran rose an eyebrow at that. “Do you truly not see it?”

“See what?”

He sighed, shaking his head in fondness. “As exasperating as you are, at your heart you are a good man, one who loves his family.”

“And one who fails them,” Oberyn muttered, turning away from him. “Why anyone would want that is beyond me.”

Doran sighed again, leaning forward to take his brother’s hands. “You could not have known. None of us could have. You did not fail our sister.”

If anyone in their family had, it was Doran himself. He should have found someone to smuggle his beloved sister and her children out rather than have Mother Rhoyne be forced to take things into her own hands and remind one single knight of his vows- vows made to another god even- and only be able to save one of them. He should have found a discreet way to kill Aerys and Rhaegar before things had escalated to that point.

If there was one thing he would never forgive himself for, it was that.

Oberyn refused to meet his gaze, shaking his head. “I swore to her that I would always be there for her,” he whispered in a broken voice, “and yet…”

“Then be there for her daughter,” Doran replied somewhat harshly, making him actually look at him, startled. “Myriah lost her sire not even a year after her birth, when he chose to chase after a girl who our laws state was too young to marry, one that our culture believes to be even younger. Do not force her to lose her father as well.”

For that was what Oberyn was to Myriah. He had been Rhaenys’ doting uncle, one who spoiled her whenever he saw her, even giving her beloved cat, but he was Myriah’s _father,_ the one who sat with her and played with her whenever he could, the one who patiently answered any question she had, the one who she ran to whenever something scared her. And with how he treated the children he had by blood, with how he treated his other niece and nephew, that would always hold true.

There was a reason why a woman such as Ellaria would wish to have a child with him and yet not even insist on becoming his paramour, let alone his wife.

Oberyn stared at him, something shining in his eyes that despite all of his perceptiveness he could not quite decipher, before shaking his head and saying in a quieter voice, “She will not. I will never… I will never do that to her.”

Something deep inside of Doran relaxed at that. He had always and would always worry about his youngest brother, and after these events especially. But he knew that there was one thing that Oberyn would never do, and that was risk the lives of his family, his children especially. He knew what his death would likely do to Myriah after the losses that she had suffered- after the losses they had _all_ suffered- and would not wish to purposefully inflict them on his fifth daughter.

Perhaps he was manipulating him into realizing this. Perhaps he was using his brother’s nature against him.

But he could not bear to lose his only remaining sibling, to be both the first and the last.

Doran squeezed his brother’s hands before standing, completely changing the subject by saying, “I believe Ellaria will be wondering where you are soon enough. I doubt she will wish to sleep before you arrive. Keeping a pregnant woman waiting is not advisable.”

Oberyn snorted at that. “Probably not.” He hesitated for a moment, before initiating a hug between them.

Neither brother said a word after that. There was no need to.

Some things did not need words.

* * *

**_Oberyn_ **

_“Do not force her to lose her father as well.”_

Out of everything that his brother had said to him since _that_ day, that was what hit him the most.

Ellaria noticed his mood the moment he walked into their bedchamber and started changing, though she said nothing and simply watched him, sitting up in bed with her hands clasped upon her swollen stomach.

Neither of them said anything for a couple minutes as they got comfortable in bed, something that had gotten more challenging the longer the pregnancy had progressed. Even once that was accomplished, they sat there for a little while longer.

Oberyn would have been happy enough to go to sleep without talking, but he could sense that his love would not accept it. So after another minute, he sighed and buried his face into her hair. “She- _Elia…”_ he whispered, barely able to make himself say her name, “…she would never want me to choose her over her daughter, over _my_ daughter, would she?” he asked, pulling away just enough to look at her.

Even in the dark, he could see Ellaria give him a soft, reassuring smile as she reached up to stroke his face in comfort. “No. She would not.”

There was more he could say, but for now he simply kissed her on the forehead before pulling her as close as he could, placing a hand on her stomach where their child lay.

Their child. Another sibling for all of his little Sand Snakes, for no matter how old they were nor whether they bore his family name or not, they would always be just that for them.

Another sibling for Myriah to love and cherish, just as she had little Egg. He could still remember her demanding to hold her little brother whenever she came into his sister’s rooms…

He needed to stop thinking about this. Doran was right, he could admit to that fact. If he let himself continue like this, he would end up hurting Myriah, hurting Ellaria and the rest of his children as well. He would be no better than that damned silver prince was, abandoning his family for his own selfish desires.

Oberyn knew that if he saw the creature that slaughtered his beloved sister and nephew in front of him he would likely not be able to stop himself. The same applied to the creature that had slaughtered the innocent girl that had been mistaken for Myriah, for even if she had not been his niece no child would ever deserve such a painful end.

(Dorne had long held the custom of cremating their dead and returning them to the Mother Rhoyne. Even those who followed the Seven exclusively did so.

When the bodies had been sent to Dorne- no doubt against the damned Usurper’s wishes- they had quietly separated the little girl’s ashes from the others. One of his Orphan cousins had long spoken of visiting the Rhoyne itself, and he had been entrusted with the urn that held them and asked to scatter them there.

They would likely never know that innocent child’s name, but they would do what they could for her, and returning her to Mother Rhoyne directly was one of the few ways they could.)

He wouldn’t be able to stop himself, but seeking out a confrontation… what kind of person would he be if he abandoned his family in death?

That realization in mind, he was able to get more sleep than he had originally thought. Ellaria had as well, which was relieving. Her pregnancy hadn’t been hard, but it had taken quite a bit of energy from her.

Eventually however, they were awakened by Mellario, who practically shoved him out of their bedroom so she could help Ellaria get ready. Oberyn had expected this, and so just meandered his way over to his brother’s rooms.

Usually they would have congregated in the Prince’s Solar to sign the papers that legally declared them married now and then prepared themselves after that, but it had been decided to do that two nights ago instead, also due to Ellaria’s pregnancy. Letting her have even thirty more minutes of sleep had been deemed prudent by everyone that had so much as thought about it, so instead they simply cut that out and started dressing for the ceremony in separate rooms.

It did not take him long to put on the traditional tunic worn during a Rhoynish wedding ceremony, always blue to represent the Rhoyne. They would put on fancier outfits for the dinner and celebration later.

They could go ahead to the sea and wait for their wives and children there, but Oberyn felt like he had to ask something even if he wouldn’t have any regret over it.

“Is me marrying Ellaria going to make things difficult for you?”

“Why would it?”

“Her parents were never married.”

Doran sighed. “You ask now? When it is far too late to stop your wedding?” He shook his head. “Oberyn, if it would, I would not have given my permission, little as that would stop either of you.”

“Until I realized it would make things easier if we just married rather than just make you legitimize any kids we had, we were going to be fine just as paramours.”

His brother hummed at that. “Perhaps. But the fact remains that Ellaria is the only child of House Uller and will likely remain that way, given how Ulwyck has shown no desire to sire any children of his own.”

Ulwyck Uller had definitely not. Quite the opposite in fact. Oberyn personally could not understand, but his gooduncle had absolutely no desire to marry or even have casual sex. It did make things much simpler for succession, as Ellaria believed that her uncle would make a far better Lord of the Hellholt than she ever would, and refused to believe anyone who said otherwise. At the moment, the agreement was that Ulwyck would take over from his brother, but that one of Ellaria’s children would take the Uller name and inherit after him.

What the Prince of Dorne was saying was that Ellaria’s case was not the same as another bastard child’s would be. Perhaps it would raise some eyebrows, but no one in Dorne would truly care, especially as he was not the eldest child, and who would care about any of the fools outside of their borders? Oberyn relaxed at that, giving his brother a smile and receiving one in return.

After collecting poor Quentyn, who had gotten kicked out of the room by his multitude of female cousins- and as much as Oberyn hated how his nephew had basically been sold to the Yronwoods for something he himself should have to make up for (ironically a fact that made Mellario warm to him the slightest bit as they were both deeply unhappy about the deal) it might be a bit of a good thing, considering Yronwood had a son only a year older than Quentyn- they made their way down to the beach, where their guests were waiting.

The women of the family followed soon after in two litters. All of them looked lovely, but none more so than Ellaria herself, who beamed at him, looking resplendent in a sleeveless blue linen dress under a darker blue cloak, her hair pulled back into a braid.

Usually Rhoynish ceremonies held by the sea started at high tide out of a belief that it meant that Mother Rhoyne was closest to her children in Dorne. Somehow, the timing actually more or less worked out on this day, and it was in fact high tide. However, for weddings, the tide did not matter. Two people marrying under Mother Rhoyne always married at dawn to signify the start of their lives together.

His Tía Sarita and her eldest child, Nayara, were waiting for them by the edge of the water. His aunt smiled at him before turning to the water and saying in Rhoynish with a loud, clear voice, “Our Mother Rhoyne, we are gathered here today to ask you for one thing: to bless the union of two of your children, of the marriage between Oberyn Nymeros Martell and Ellaria Uller.”

With those words out of her mouth, she gestured for them to come closer.

One facet of ceremonies to honor Mother Rhoyne was blood. Not sacrifices or anything like that- the religion would likely have completely died out in Dorne if that was the case- but for important ceremonies, the one hosting them would make a shallow cut on their body, usually on the side of their hands, for the Rhoynar believed that their ancestors had come to Mother Rhoyne asking for aid and she shielded them with her own lifeforce. Giving some of it back to her was said to indicate that they wished for her to notice their pleas to her.

And, for weddings, it was a permanent reminder of vows made.

Sarita, being the current leader of one group of the Orphans of the Greenblood, had no doubt performed this type of ceremony many different times, and as Nayara was her heir and a couple of years older than him she likely had as well. She quickly and cleanly made a vertical cut on both of his palms, cuts deep enough to scar but shallow enough to do no permanent harm.

That done, she turned back to the water to say a few more words. “Mother Rhoyne, let the words spoken between these two reach you, and may their union be blessed by your grace, that they may form a partnership such as the one that you and your own consort have in your own marriage.”

With that, the two women retreated, leaving them alone, for the next part was between no one but the two of them and Mother Rhoyne herself.

Oberyn took Ellaria’s hands, carefully helping her kneel in the waves, grateful that she hadn’t grown near as much as Mellario had to make this easier on her. It was only when they were settled that they lowered their clasped hands to the water.

He had expected the salt water to sting in their wounds, and it did- but only for a brief moment before it stopped stinging completely. The both of them blinked down at their hands before shaking their heads and focusing on their next actions.

Oberyn hesitated. He had always liked the idea of having a Rhoynish ceremony, for it was far more personal than what he would get in the cold sept, as the couple made their own vows to each other rather than parroting what a septon told them to, but now that it was actually here… there was one thing he needed to make clear, however.

“Ellaria, my love… I am not a perfect man. I doubt I will be a perfect husband either. But I swear to you that it will be your bed I go to at the end of the day, and that I will live for you and our children. I won’t… If I am ever forced to leave you, it will not be by my own choice. If I am given the choice, I will not leave you- any of you.”

Ellaria smiled at him, the softest and most loving one he had seen on her yet. “Oberyn, my love, I do not expect a perfect man. I am far from perfect myself. I also swear to you that I will always go to your bed at the end of the day, and that I will care for all of our children- the ones borne from my own body, the ones that you have given me, and the one that came into our care. It does not matter how they came to be, and until Mother Rhoyne calls me back to her halls I will always be here for you as well given a choice.”

Once the final words were out of her mouth, Oberyn leaned forward and kissed her, a soft kiss, but one somehow full of more passion than they had ever expressed towards each other.

While they did that, a large wave enveloped them. Unlike other waves that he had been caught in, this one did not make him feel as if they were about to be swept away by the tide. No, this one reminded him of when he was young, when he sat on his mother’s lap and she had held him so gently, stroking his hair and singing to him the same songs that Nymeria of Ny Sar had passed down to her own children.

When they finally stopped kissing each other, they smiled at each other, the love they felt for each other clear on their faces and in their eyes.

That should have been the highlight of the day, but it still held one last surprise.

Oberyn carefully helped Ellaria stand, about to head back to their waiting family and guests on the beach, when she looked down at her hands and gasped, one that he mirrored when he glanced at hers and then his.

The cuts that had just been made on their hands, instead of looking like the freshly made ones that they should, instead looked like scars a few days old and well on the way to healing.

They stared at her for several long moments in shock before Oberyn turned his eyes to the sea.

He had always believed in Mother Rhoyne more than other gods, but this…

Perhaps the Orphans of the Greenblood and the other devoted worshippers were right.

It did in fact look as if Mother Rhoyne still looked out for her children and blessed them if they but asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you ask me, Elia's death broke Doran far more than it did Oberyn.
> 
> Yes, Oberyn got himself killed. But before that he had at least fifteen years in a stable relationship with Ellaria, and I can't help but notice the circumstances it happened in. None of his kids were there. Ellaria was, but she was "only" his paramour. The northerners would believe she held no place in the Martell family after his death. We know differently, but considering how they treat mistresses they wouldn't even bother to believe that. Not only that, but her father and uncle were also there, and could help protect her. Does it make the fact that he chose the dead over those living okay? No. It will never. But I do believe that he at least saw the risks if he failed.
> 
> Doran, on the other hand... he did not have that. Mellario left, and I am certain that it was not only because of fostering. I fully believe that after awhile she could not handle it anymore, for Doran is extremely private in his grief. His relationship with Arianne also crumbled because he refused to involve her in his plans. It's no wonder that Arianne seems to hope Aegon is the real Aegon, for he desperately needs something good to happen- and unfortunately if he is it will likely only be temporary, and I don't see Aegon surviving.
> 
> Basically, please give Doran a hug he needs one.
> 
> Here at least, due to Myriah's survival, things aren't as bad. Doran has let Mellario in, let her see some of his grief and let her help him rule, while Oberyn has realized that he still has family left, family that Elia would never approve of him abandoning to avenge her. (And also Ellaria as his wife- King's Landing will go VERY differently, but even if it was Oberyn would realize that they could use his widow against his brother and family and make different decisions.)
> 
> On another topic, Mellario and Lady Estella talked about more than she's letting on at the moment. We'll see more on that next chapter.
> 
> I personally believe that Rhaegar did quit being his daughter's father after Harrenhall, after he decided to crown another woman over her mother, his own wife, who was likely pregnant with his heir at the time. Myriah... she won't exactly have many memories of him.
> 
> Oh, and I like to imagine that Dorne actually outright bans marriages if one or both parties are under fifteen. If you force someone younger to marry, have fun saying hello to Uncle Harmen at the Hellholt! (And culturally, the age is actually higher- 18+ is the norm.)
> 
> Look, if the Riverlands, right in the middle of Andal country, gets their own funeral customs, so does Dorne!  
> And as for the girl mistaken as Myriah- sadly, they will never find out who she was. She was just a poor servant's daughter, and given the way she was killed there was no real way to identify her. We could with technology we have now, but a medieval society could not.
> 
> I hope the explanation about why Oberyn and Ellaria get to marry makes sense. Not going to lie though, I just really want their position to be official, so that's partially why the tags say this is kind of self-indulgent x)
> 
> And here we have the first real sign that Mother Rhoyne is around! I can't wait to write what I have in store involving the Rhoynar and their magic >:3


	5. Every New Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The birth of Oberyn and Ellaria's first child together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm going ahead and putting the years of everyone's birth in this up here, or at least for the Martells, just to keep everything straight.  
> 248- Doran (technically 247... but on the last day of the year, so just count it from 248)  
> 253- Mellario  
> 257- Elia (daughter of Loreza)  
> 258- Oberyn, Ellaria  
> 273- Obara  
> 275- Nym  
> 277- Arianne, Tyene  
> 280- Sarella, Myriah  
> 281- Quentyn  
> 284- Elia (daughter of Oberyn)  
> 287- Trystane  
> 288- Obella  
> 293- Dorea  
> 294- Loreza
> 
> Also, Arianne/Daemon Sand is happening. It will be wholesome and yet a little bittersweet. I have not decided on any other pairings just so you know.

**The Water Gardens**

**_Mellario_ **

“Why is Arianne so pleased to have started corresponding with Ynys Yronwood?”

Mellario sighed, realized that her wish to take a nap would be in vain this afternoon for this subject would likely take awhile to explain, and turned to face her husband. “Our little princess is glad to have another friend?” she tried, knowing that such a simple explanation would not placate her husband.

Sure enough, Doran simply looked at her before joining her on the chaise in their solar, where she had been spending the last hour reading and answering her own letters. (And unfortunately wasting some parchment; even several years later she was still not confident in writing in Westerosi.) “I thought you would have believed your own correspondence with Lady Estella is all of the contact with the Yronwoods our family would need for the next several years.”

She let out another breath. “I would prefer it to be, I will not lie to you.”

(That was not a lie. It was a slight omission, however. She would prefer for their family to have no contact with the Yronwoods besides what was needed for politics. She had no doubt her husband knew that, however, and so there was no reason to bring it up yet again. They had spoken of this topic far too many times already.)

“However, having Arianne befriend and correspond with the Lady Ynys, the current heir to House Yronwood, will be beneficial to both children.”

Mellario may not be a native speaker of Westerosi, but that did not prevent her from knowing how to carefully choose the words she used.

As expected, Doran tensed and something dark entered his eyes. _“Current heir?_ Do you mean to say that-“

“Lady Estella does not believe that her husband will directly usurp her daughter’s rights. Nor does she believe that is necessarily what he wants, to have Cletus inherit over his elder sister. She does, however, notice that he seems to favor Cletus far more than he ever has Ynys. Lady Estella worries that favoritism will continue as they grow, and that something will happen between the two of them that will cause Ynys will be deprived of her birthright, either through being married off or through being completely disowned.”

Doran did not say anything for the longest time. Even despite the eight years of marriage they had experienced, Mellario could not claim to know exactly what went on in his mind at any given moment. She had, however, learned how to read him so she could get a general idea as to his mood.

And with the way his lips pressed together and his burning eyes seemed to gaze at something she could not see, she knew that he did not look kindly upon this news.

(She was relieved by that fact. She herself was the only child of her parents, but she had never been considered their family’s heir. That had always been left to her male cousin, and she had always been taunted with the idea that he would try to marry her simply to have a stronger claim. Said cousin had never shown any indication of wishing that himself, had in fact married before she had even met Doran, but it had still been something she had despised.)

After several long moments, Doran turned back to her, the dark look in his eyes having retreated for now, but displeasure still shining clear in them. “Did Lady Estella ask for anything else to ensure her daughter’s rights?”

“No. She did not.”

Lady Estella had admitted that she would not mind Ynys and Quentyn marrying, but had agreed that they were both too young to even discuss that, being only six and three. They could revisit the topic when they were both older and closer to being of age when they saw how they acted around each other.

Mellario shook those thoughts away. “Arianne befriending Ynys was easy enough. They are only a year apart in age. A friendship between our daughter and a girl that will hopefully one day be one of her most powerful bannerman…”

Doran understood her meaning immediately, for he nodded, a contemplative look crossing his face. “My own mother had me do something similar as I grew. Perhaps it would be good for Arianne to do something similar for other women and men. Letting the people she will one day rule over know her will only make them more likely to support her as Ruling Princess.”

She was opening her mouth, about to agree with the idea and ask who he thought who their daughter should speak with- House Uller was already assured to be their ally, given how one Oberyn’s children with Ellaria would one day become Lady of the Hellholt, but perhaps Allyria Dayne? She was only a few years older than Arianne, and she believed that Franklyn Fowler had twins the same age as Nym; if she befriended them, the premier houses in the Red Mountains were all but assured to be completely loyal to her daughter, though she was unsure of what other options there were and thus needed to ask- when someone banged at the door.

Doran told them to enter, and the door opened to reveal one of their servants who was slightly out of breath.

“Your graces, the Healer Usha asked me to find and tell you that the Princess Ellaria has gone into labor.”

* * *

**_Ellaria_ **

Ellaria did not know how in the world anyone could call a woman weak. Childbirth was likely the most pain she would ever be in.

There was one saving grace, and that it had been a fast childbirth- too fast some would say, especially given that it was the first child she carried in her womb. Usually first children took the longest to come out.

But regardless of that fact, she had gone into labor at only slightly past midday, and now the sun was setting as her sixth daughter nursed at her breath.

(How easily she was able to nurse her daughter relieved her. Mellario had spoken of how she had never been able to produce enough milk to feed either Arianne or Quentyn, and Ellaria had not wished to be unable to herself. She knew that no one would think any less of her if she were unable to, but she still longed to.)

Her beautiful daughter. Small with skin still slightly red and wrinkly from birth, yes, but still so beautiful and full of life. Her daughter had started crying almost the moment she had been born, but now she had quieted down and was well on her way to falling asleep, though that would most likely change when her older sisters and cousins were allowed in to see her.

They could wait for a little while longer, however, for she wished to spend a little more time with only her newest daughter and the man she had married.

A man who, when she handed her to him after she had finished nursing, carefully cradled his daughter in his arms, lovingly stroking the soft strands of black hair already crowing her head with the softest smile she had ever seen on his face.

Oberyn Nymeros Martell was a feared man, one who had a reputation for bloodshed, but Ellaria knew that was not all that he was. At his heart, he was a father that adored his children, one who wanted nothing more in life than to see them thrive.

Case in point, he said in an awed voice, “I do not understand why fools refuse to have anything to do with their children.”

Ellaria couldn’t stop herself from laughing as she sank further into the bed, wishing that she could simply sleep off her exhaustion right this moment now that her newest daughter had been fed, but knowing that she would have to see the rest of her daughters first. “Oby, we all knew that already,” she breathed, smiling at the two of them.

“It bears repeating,” he grinned before turning his full attention back to their daughter.

Despite her best attempts to stay awake, Ellaria almost drifted off to the sounds of her husband cooing over their newborn. Anyone that thought he was terrifying had obviously never seen him in a state such as this.

“Arianne insisted you take a bath and when you got out your water broke?”

She hummed, forcing herself to sit up as much as she could before opening her eyes and looking over at him. “Yes, she did. She got Myriah to join her in bugging me until I gave up and let them help me in one. Why?”

Oberyn looked down at their daughter, stroking her hair with a contemplative look on his face. “Usha had two jugs of water she brought from the Greenblood that had been blessed by Rhoynish healers to help their patients. She told me that one of them had been emptied before you went into labor.”

Ellaria blinked, sitting up even more. “Both of them dumped one of the jugs in my bath before I could stop them. You don’t think-“ she started, cutting herself off because she was not certain how to even say her thoughts.

She couldn’t stop herself from glancing down at her hands. The scars that had been made during their wedding were fully healed as they should be near two moons after, but she still remembered glancing down after they stood and seeing that they looked as if they had been made days rather than minutes earlier.

“Considering when Arianne and Myriah were born and when this little one was born and everything else that we’ve seen involving water…”

Ellaria bit her lip, leaning back down and thinking. Arianne had been born at dawn on the very first day of the year. That fact had been paraded throughout all of Dorne, for they believed that it meant she was destined for good things. Their newest daughter had been born here at sunset. As for Myriah… “Was Myriah born at midday?”

“When the sun was at its highest in the sky,” Oberyn said softly, closing his eyes.

She tried to think of what that meant, but eventually sighed and realized she was too exhausted to keep things straight. “What was the legend about the sun and the Rhoynar again? My mind keeps going back to the version told on Abulu and you know that there has been so much Summer Islander influences there.”

Oberyn brightened at that. “Our little one’s first storytime!”

Ellaria couldn’t stop her laugh if she tried. Oh, she would never regret her decision to forgo moon tea nine moons ago, not with this man.

Her husband settled down next to her in bed, their child still cradled in his arms. “Sola is the source of all light, just as Mother Rhoyne is the source of all the water of the world. They were even friends,” he began in a gentle voice.

“One day, Sola saw a group of people huddling together for warmth, all of them weak with nowhere to go for shelter. Her heart went out to them, and she could not stand by and allow this to continue any longer. She knew that it would take all of her strength and she would have to spend great portions of each day resting, but despite that she still committed to her plan, for they needed aid.

“Sola used all of her strength and rose up in the sky, starting behind them and bringing light to the sky. The people were somewhat scared at first, for they did not know her, but as her warmth spread through the air they realized that she meant them no harm, and was in fact trying to guide them.

“The people started their journey at that first sunrise, following Sola to the west. They rested at the first midday, when she was highest in the sky. And at the first sunset, they were led to Mother Rhoyne, who took them into her care, sharing her own lifeforce with them. From then on, the people that had followed Sola to shelter under Mother Rhoyne were known as the Rhoynar.”

Ellaria hummed in appreciation at the story, smiling down at their peacefully sleeping daughter. They had both liked the story it seemed. “Sunrise, Midday, and Sunset… the three positions of the sun mentioned in the legend.”

Oberyn nodded, also looking down at their daughter. “Arianne, Myriah, and this little one- the eldest children of three siblings directly descended from Nymeria of Ny Sar, herself descended from the same Rhoynar that followed Sola to salvation.”

“This daughter is not your first child,” Ellaria said sharply, unable to believe what she was hearing.

“My first children by my soulmate.”

Oberyn froze at that, but warmth filled Ellaria’s heart when she heard those words.

The Rhoynar also believed in soulmates, of meeting a person and forming such a connection with them that their souls were connected through all time. Hearing him say that to her…

She pulled him down for a kiss before softly saying, “If that is the logic you wish to use, I can excuse it.”

He smiled at her before setting back. “I wonder if water magic is still around, we simply have not tried the right way to use it.”

Ellaria shook her head. “No. I do not believe that to be the case. No, I believe that Mother Rhoyne simply has not allowed her children to use water magic yet, and has changed her mind and will allow it in the future.”

The question of why _now_ was left unsaid between them, for neither of them had any idea. Dorne had been in dire predicaments many times over the past three hundred years, and yet…

After a minute she shook her head and turned back to their daughter. “We need a name for her. We cannot keep calling her little one now that she is here.”

Oberyn sucked in a breath before saying, “Elia. She… I always wished to name my children after my family.”

Ellaria smiled at him, stroking their daughter’s head. “Elia. Princess Elia, daughter of Prince Oberyn, one day the Lady of the Hellholt if that is the path she chooses. It fits.”

He gave her a bittersweet smile before leaning down and kissing Elia’s little head. “Elia. Our little Lia. She will have a future where she can be anything she wishes, so long as she is happy, I swear it.”

Ellaria swore that as well, as did the rest of their family when they came in and passed the newest member of their family around and they all held her for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, for awhile I was fine with Ynys Yronwood marrying Ryon Allyrion, simply figuring that it was a love match since she was the eldest. And then I found out that I was wrong, and Ryon is Daemon Sand's father, not brother. And now I'm extremely creeped out by that fact because even if we assume Ryon had him at like 14 and had that in common with Oberyn, that's still probably a decade and a half difference in age between the two of them and no.  
> So here's this explanation. Basically, Ynys and Anders' relationship is what canon Arianne and Doran's was, except even worse than that ever got. That won't change that much. However, Ynys will have a friendship with Arianne this time around, and will fill more assured in her place as heir. Whatever happened in canon to make her marry Ryon Allyrion won't happen.  
> Will Ynys end up marrying Quentyn? I'll admit to thinking about it, but I have not decided. I have a couple ideas in mind for him.  
> As for who Ryon Allyrion will marry... I've been lurking on tumblr and Allyria Allyrion is a galaxy brained idea and we have no idea how old she is so I can have her be close enough in age that it won't be as creepy. So that might happen.
> 
> Arianne is going to end up with a whole posse of bannermen that's friends with her. She will be terrifying and she deserves it because she should be the best Princess of Dorne since Nymeria herself.
> 
> If you're curious, Mellario's pregnancies and labors, while not the easiest to say the least, were at no time life threatening. She just was unable to nurse them herself for whatever reason.  
> (Also, Doran and Mellario met and married when they were about 28 and 23 in case you're worried about creepy age differences.)
> 
> None of Oberyn's family understands how in the world he got the reputation he did. They've seen him actually interact with his kids and he is just so soft around them that it's impossible to think otherwise.
> 
> More practical ways to use Water Magic! ...sort of. There wasn't any conscious use of it, but Arianne and Myriah were onto something, let's just put it this way.
> 
> Abulu is the Isle of Women on the Summer Isles, where some Rhoynar stayed rather than continuing on with Nymeria to Dorne. Ellaria is actually directly descended from that group, and spent some of her formative years there.
> 
> This myth about Sola being the sun and leading the Rhoynar to Mother Rhoyne came about from all the references that the red sun on the Martell's banner came from the red sun of the Rhoynar, which one would think would be a little odd since their entire civilization was based around the Rhoyne. Also, it's fun to come up with stuff like this!
> 
> I like what other people have done, having the Rhoynar believe in soulmates, so there. (Don't think any soulmate au stuff applies though- you have to meet and form a strong romantic connection with each other before Mother Rhoyne will consider you to be soulmates. She doesn't meddle in her children's lives that kind of way.)
> 
> Anyway, next chapter will be after a timeskip. I really want to get to the water magic stuff, and that won't come out in full force until then.
> 
> By the way, this might be one of the shortest chapters. I feel like we're going to be getting into some longer chapters as things go on...
> 
> Also, against my better judgement, I have decided to stop lurking and make another tumblr for this fandom. It's sunontherhoyne.tumblr.com! I'm about to follow people and continue setting it up tonight. Ask box is open if you want to ask me anything!  
> (Seriously please ask me stuff I get lonely and bored and my new job won't start for another week ;-;)


	6. Coming of Age

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arianne's sixteenth nameday arrives, and we see a glimpse at her relationship with her parents in this world.

**292- Sunspear**

**_Arianne_ **

The Prince’s Solar, despite being the place where the Ruler of Dorne governed and where politics happened, was actually a pleasant place to be this particular morning. It had been freshly cleaned the day before in preparation for the many visitors it would soon see by servants that had been vetted to be completely loyal to their family, and despite it being summer the early morning breeze coming off of the sea meant that the window could be opened to let fresh air in.

Sometimes Arianne was wary of entering this solar to speak to her father of politics, for she worried that she would find that something ill was in store for her country. But on this day, as she nodded at Areo Hotah as he opened the door to reveal her father calmly sitting behind his desk reviewing some papers, the whole scene seemed almost… cozy.

Prince Doran looked up and smiled at her when she walked in. “Arianne,” he said, gesturing to the seat next to him.

Arianne returned the smile as she sat down. Her father was a solemn man, but he had never given her any reason to doubt that he loved her, and times like this, with her nameday celebrations soon to begin in a fortnight, the celebrations where she would officially be installed as Heir to the Sunchair, helped him loosen up enough to openly show it.

She was curious about one thing, however. “Where is mother? I thought she would be here.”

Her father gave her a wry turn of his lips. “I insisted that she take the morning off. She has been running herself ragged, attempting to sort out all of the little details with these celebrations herself as she refuses to let Ellaria help more than she already has.”

Arianne grimaced at that. Her aunt was heavy with child once again, yes, but that did not mean that she could not help.

Though that did remind her of one thing she had been wondering about. “Abuela… how did she handle things like this? She was the Ruling Princess, but I have grown up watching mother or Ellaria handle these things, and they are both female consorts.”

Doran was silent for several moments, his eyes turning distant. “Your abuela insisted on overseeing the broad details herself,” he said, his voice nostalgic, “but she delegated anything else to others while she ruled. For years she had Lady Iryna Jordayne as chatelaine, and she was the one to truly plan any events. And then… your aunt took over after her when she was old enough as Lady Iryna was older than your abuela and wished to retire, before transitioning completely over to your mother around half a year after your birth, once she was certain that your mother had a handle on things.”

Arianne sighed, closing her eyes. Refusing to ask more of her aunt and how she did it- her family was always willing to tell her stories of her, but their grief was still strong even after all this time and she refused to bring that to the surface right this minute- she asked, “Would it be possible for me to simply ask one of my cousins to take that role? Or would making it a calculated choice from one of our bannermen be best?”

Her father thought for several moments before replying, “Either option would be acceptable. It would be a position a competent bannerman could take, allowing you another loyal House with ties to our family. However, it is far more common to have a family member fill such a position if at all possible, as it would keep them close. Which of your cousins did you have in mind?”

This was how these conversations often went between the two of them. Arianne would ask a question and her father would reply before asking her another one in turn, believing that it would help her learn.

She leaned back in her chair and thought carefully about it. “Nym or Myriah,” she finally answered. Knowing that he would want an explanation, she continued, “Obara would not want the position and would refuse.” Nor would she do well in it, but that went unsaid. Her eldest cousin knew very well her strengths, and this was not one of them. “Tyene I would wish as my advisor, though she would do well in the position if it was passed down to her. Sarella would likewise do well, but it does not seem like the path she would choose in life. Lia is too young to know for certain, but she will likely become Lady of the Hellholt one day and I would not deprive her of her birthright. Obella is also far too young for me to make a decision about.”

Doran nodded, a satisfied look in his eyes that warmed her heart every single time she saw it.

Her father was a great man, and she wished to make him proud above all else.

“Either of them would do well, if that is the path they choose.”

His approval did mean much to her, but she was slightly surprised that he said nothing more about Myriah and what could be her birthright.

(If Arianne was honest, she did not wish to see Myriah make a play for the Iron Throne.

It was not that she had any doubts that Myriah would be a great Queen, for she would. She would care for all of her subjects, and actually enact reforms to improve their lives unlike many who had sat on that throne before her.

No, her reluctance came from some selfishness for she did not wish to see any of her family leave, but also from the knowledge that she was starting to doubt that Myriah wished to be queen. She was not the one that her cousin gave her confidences to, but from the little things she had observed in her…

And even apart from that, she still remembered the argument she overheard between her father and uncle years ago, where her uncle said how he thought that Iron Throne cursed any who sat upon it and how much he did not want his daughter to be forced to share that fate.)

Her father changed the subject before she could say anything on that subject- not that she would, for at the end of the day it was Myriah and only Myriah’s decision. “When were you planning to do your final fittings for your outfits?”

“This afternoon, providing that nothing comes up, in which case it would be tomorrow. Why?”

“The invited lords from north of the Red Mountains will be arriving in the next few days. I wish for you to be with me when they come here to speak with me.”

“What?” Arianne asked, startled. “I thought… I thought that we would wait until after my nameday.”

“Your nameday is but a fortnight away,” Doran reminded her gently. “I see no reason why you should not begin some of your duties now.”

She stared at him for the longest moment before leaning forward and kissing her father’s cheek. “Papa… I will try my hardest to make you proud.”

He simply smiled at her and laid his own hand on hers. “I have no doubt that you will, Arianne. The fact that you are willing to try has already done that.”

*******

The next days were… _interesting_.

Arianne was glad to have been in the meetings with other lords, for it meant that her father was indeed invested in her as his heir. She would not refuse to join him without someone giving her a very good reason.

That did not mean she took any particular joy in them.

The meetings with their bannermen were fine. She knew most of them by reputation, if not personally.

Most of all, they did not so much at blink at her being their future ruler despite being a woman. Even if many of them were not old enough to remember her grandmother, there were several women that ruled in their own right.

That was not the case for some of these damned northerners.

Oh, some of them were perfectly fine- ironically the two she found most fine were both men of the Reach, Baelor Hightower and Willas Tyrell, the latter of whom she would actually be somewhat interested in as a consort were he not heir to his own house- but others… were not.

The Usurper’s Minder had come as a representative of the crown. He had looked very surprised to see her, her mother, her aunt, and her two eldest cousins with her father when he walked into the Prince’s Solar.

According to her mother, he had the same exact reaction the last time he had come to Sunspear and found Mellario fulfilling the duties of a Princess Consort and ruling with her husband.

Not for the first time, Arianne was glad to have been born in Dorne. Here she was not deprived of her birthright for having two younger brothers, was not considered to be less simply because she did not have something pathetic dangling between her legs.

Arryn’s shock did have one positive effect, however, and it was making their satisfaction at finding how many Essosi allies they had even sweeter, for representatives from all nine of the Free Cities and several Princes or Princesses of the Summer Isles or members of their families had arrived.

Her grandparents from Norvos had come, of course. She was their blood, after all, and while they had only met in person one time that she could remember (two years ago, when her mother wished to travel to see a cousin marry) she had received correspondence from them since she was five and began to learn Valyrian, her third language, and they had shown her nothing but warm feelings whenever they had written or met.

That was not the only family they had in the Free Cities, however.

Her great-grandmother, the Ruling Princess Aliandra, had been blessed with three younger siblings. Two of them had stayed in Dorne- one had become her sister’s chatelaine as Arianne had learned when she sought out the information after her talk with her father, never marrying but remaining committed to her paramour, a minor daughter of House Qorgyle, for her entire life, and the other had eventually started a cadet line that led to Manfrey and his twin children, Cyro and Iryna, both of whom were only a year younger than her.

Aliandra’s youngest sister, however, was the one to make the greatest match. Lucrezia Martell had many suitors, but the one she eventually chose was a magister of Braavos. They had a very fruitful marriage, with many children- most of whom married into other Braavosi families.

As a result of those marriages, the current Sealord of Braavos was in fact one of their cousins.

Even better, said man had arrived with his wife after several Westerosi lords had, and greeted them like old friends in full view of some of their men, having struck up a correspondence with Doran when he had visited the Free Cities years before he was elected as the Sealord.

Their entire family had been hard pressed to hide their satisfaction at watching them all realize that they had not been bluffing regarding their connections in the Free Cities.

Family aside, Arianne had been shocked upon seeing just how many people had arrived to see her confirmed as the heir. Yes, many of them no doubt wished to be her consort, but the turnout had been far more than she had ever expected it to be, even with her father showing her all of the trading contracts and alliances they were making with the Free Cities and the Summer Isles, the latter helped greatly by Ellaria’s personal knowledge of the Isles and command of their tongue.

She was a little humbled greeting visitor after visitor, and once again swore to do her best to live up to her people’s expectations.

However, all of these meetings were tiring, which is why she was more than a little relieved to find that she could spend a few hours one afternoon three days before her nameday with her mother.

Arianne would admit that she was far closer to her father than her mother. Her fate had always been to one day be the Princess of Dorne, and when she had gravitated to her father her family had encouraged that, knowing that firsthand knowledge of how to rule was something to be cultivated.

However, she did still enjoy the moments she had with her mother.

This day, Mellario was sorting through the wigs that she kept in a chest.

Her mother had told her many stories of her short courtship with her father, nostalgically recalling that the moment she knew that she loved her husband was when he had reacted with confusion that she felt she needed to demand that she would not be forced to grow her hair out when they were discussing marriage.

Arianne would never cut her hair if she was given a choice. She quite liked her curls.

However, thanks to her mother’s words, she knew that the consort she wanted was a man who would treat her the same way, one who would appreciate her for who she was and not ask her to change.

Perhaps she would want one that was more open with his feelings towards her as her uncle was to her aunt, but she truly wanted a man she could share her life with.

(She knew that her marriage would likely be in at least some ways a political choice. But seeing her father and uncle marry for love, knowing that her abuela had married her abuelo in friendship and love had blossomed between them… she wanted that in her life.)

After moving to Dorne, Mellario had chosen to forgo wearing wigs all of the time, partially due to the heat, and partially due to other options being fairly widespread. For celebrations and formal audiences with those outside of Dorne she still wore one of her collection of wigs, but for normal days she wore either veils or headscarves- the former when she had to act as Princess Consort in an official capacity, and the latter for everyday tasks. In fact, these past weeks had been the most she had seen her mother wear wigs in years. Even when they had visited Norvos she kept to her veils more than her wigs.

“Is there any handsome man you hope to crown you Queen of Love and Beauty at the end of the tourney I’ve graciously prepared for you?”

Arianne groaned and buried her face in her hands. “Mama…”

“What?” Mellario asked innocently. “What is wrong with asking my own daughter if there is a handsome man that’s caught her eye, one that is willing to give me grandchildren?”

Arianne lifted her head to glare at the amusement shining in her mother’s eyes and the way her lips were tilted ever so slightly upwards. “I hope for my uncle to win the joust, because then no one will be able to pretend there is anything romantic between us if he crowns me,” she hissed, wanting this subject to go away.

Unfortunately, her mother simply laughed at her. “No dashing knight? I saw you eyeing Ser Galahad the other day.”

“I was eyeing the ridiculous haircut he thankfully fixed the next day,” she said dryly. “Galahad is like an older brother to me, has been since the day we first met. The knight I wish to have an affair with is not him in any way, shape, or form.”

It was only when Mellario rose an eyebrow at her that she realized her mistake, and she mentally cursed. Her father had always taught her to pick her words carefully, and yet she had made such an obvious mistake as that.

Her mother looked at her for a moment before finally closing her wig chest and sitting down across from her. “But there is a knight you would not mind being with,” she said softly.

Arianne looked away. “There is no point talking about it,” she said harshly. “Anything is impossible, and I refuse to jeopardize Dorne by chasing after what cannot be.”

“How would you be?”

“Because if I involved myself any more with this knight, I do not know if I would be able to give him up when it came time to choose a consort.”

She looked away from her mother’s gaze, hating the knowing look she gave her. Given everything she had said already, Mellario no doubt knew exactly who she was referring to. A knight- or at least, a boy that would one day soon become a full-fledged knight, likely once he himself had passed his sixteenth birthday if she had heard her uncle correctly- that she would know well, but that she could not marry.

Much to her relief, her mother did not press her for more details. Instead, she simply leaned forward and took her hands. “Arianne, even if you cannot make your knight your consort, no one will begrudge you taking a chance at happiness, even if it is fleeting. I took a chance and married your father, and I have no regrets. Yes, even now there are days that I long for Norvos, to some of the customs of my birthplace, and I will not claim that your father and I have the most perfect marriage, but I do not regret marrying him. I would have regretted not marrying him. I do not wish for you to regret not taking this chance.”

Arianne stared at her. Her advice was the same Tyene’s had been, and she was the only one to know all of the details, but somehow, with what she had now learned, it meant far more than her cousin’s, as her almost twin’s.

After a moment, she leaned forward and embraced her. “Mama, I do not know if it is even possible. I am not the only one involved in this decision, and I refuse to make him bow to my wishes if that is not what he wants.”

She felt her mother smile as she gently stroked her back. “Ari, your heart is what I love the most about you. I am only saying that if the chance to speak to your knight about your future arises, to take it. Whatever happens will happen, but do not let it slip out of your fingers without trying.”

They sat there, simply embracing, for the longest time.

Arianne may be closest to her father, but if her mother had left them, she did not know what she would have done.

*******

Despite none of the events starting until the afternoon, Arianne still woke at dawn on her nameday.

Realizing that she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep, she reluctantly got up, tying her hope closely around her body and putting on a pair of ankle boots before walking out onto her balcony to watch the sun rise over the sea.

This was when she had been born, at dawn sixteen years ago on the first day of the year.

The Dornish believed that those born in the early days of the year were destined to bring greatness to the world. A future Ruling Princess being born just as the new year dawned…

Arianne had no idea how she would ever live up to their hopes for her. Disappointing her people was the last thing she would ever want, but she worried that it was inevitable.

After watching the sun climb higher in the sky, she sighed and walked back into her rooms, closing the door to the balcony behind her. Tyene at least would be arriving soon, for her cousin was adamant that she look as much like a Princess as possible on this day, and she would likely bring some of her sisters with her. She had a morning of pampering ahead of her- not that she was necessarily complaining about that!

She was walking towards her solar, planning on passing the time by reading, when her eye caught sight of the bowl of water near her vanity.

Arianne paused before changing course and walking towards it, removing her robe and setting it next to her.

She had been raised in two religions- the Faith of the Seven and Mother Rhoyne. She never let on to her true feelings, wishing to respect everyone’s religion, but she privately preferred praying to Mother Rhoyne than the Seven Who Are One. It felt that she was praying to something that was listening rather than just speaking to cold statues.

Arianne lowered her head, placing her hands on the surface of the water. “Mother Rhoyne,” she began softly, “I ask you to please help me, to please help me be the Princess that Dorne needs me to be… and to please help me not disappoint those I love.”

A sense of peace spread over her once her plea left her lips, like she felt around her parents when they held her and told her that everything was going to be alright. She relaxed, feeling as if someone was embracing her and giving her strength.

And then she heard a crash from her solar and one of her cousins scream “Obella!” and her reverie was broken.

Arianne stepped back, glancing towards her door and the argument unfolding beyond. She reached for her robe before stopping in shock.

Both of her arms were wet to just above her elbow, but the bowl had been far too shallow for her to have dipped them that far into the water without noticing.

Making a note to ponder on this more later, she quickly threw on her robe before walking into her solar, finding three of her cousins waiting for her.

The crash she had heard was apparently the result of Obella knocking over a chair somehow, and the argument was of Nym arguing with her current youngest sister over how they do not run around and try to knock things down when they are not in the training grounds.

Tyene meanwhile was sighing and actually picking up the chair until she caught sight of her. “Ari!” she greeted, skipping over to her and embracing her. “How are you? Did you sleep well before the current baby of the family so rudely woke you up?”

“I’m not a baby!” said baby of the family yelled. Her cheeks puffed out as she glared at her older sister with all the strength a four-year-old could muster. It was absolutely adorable.

Arianne laughed, walking over to pat Obella’s head. “Oh, don’t worry sweetling, you did not wake me up, I have been awake for an hour at least,” she said, smiling down at her. “Where is everyone else? I assumed that all of my wonderful cousins would be catering to my every whim this day, and yet there are only three of you.”

Nym shook her head, a fond smile on her face. “Obara and Sarella are at the training grounds. Sarella refuses to put aside trying to master the bow Kaija gave her the last time she came to Sunspear even for your nameday, and we all know how Obara feels about training.

Arianne snorted. “That, and most men are cowards who refuse to like a woman who can defeat them without breaking a sweat and so it’s a welcome reprieve from dealing with them.”

“That too!”

Arianne had obviously been the one to receive the bulk of the _attention_ from men considering what position any man she married would bear, but she had not been the only one. While some fools, especially from above the Red Mountains, wrote Obara off as nothing but a bastard daughter even if she had been legitimized long ago, others noticed that she was the eldest daughter of a Prince, even if said prince wasn’t the ruler nor would he likely ever be. The eldest of this generation of Martells had made clear that she had no wish for a partner at any opportunity, but there were still some idiots out there who could not take a hint.

Nym herself had received some attention, but she handled it with much more grace. Having watched her in action, Arianne was debating about eventually asking her to be her unofficial Master of Whispers. Her second eldest cousin gracefully stole any and all secrets some of these men had locked inside of them as they sat there distracted by her.

Tyene had also received some attention, but she had been attending Arianne for much of this past fortnight, and so many instead looked to Arianne instead.

Myriah and Sarella had been thrown a couple of “compliments,” but her uncle was terrifying when he wanted to be and word had quickly gotten around to approach all but his three eldest daughters at their peril.

Thus far, no one had been idiotic enough to try and flirt with Lia or Obella. Perhaps there was some hope for some of these men.

“And Myriah and Lia?”

“Making certain that they send up blessed water for your bath.”

Her cousins were truly going all out today. Usually baths with blessed water were reserved for the members of their family that were pregnant or injured for whatever reason. She was not going to complain, however. For some reason, baths using water that had been blessed by Mother Rhoyne were even more relaxing than usual.

Myriah and Lia came back soon enough, and they spent near an hour simply talking and laughing and feasting on the light breakfast that had been brought up to them.

Once their meal was finished, several servants came up with her bath. Usually House Martell cleaned themselves in a communal bathhouse accessible only to members of their family or simply washed with a rag and bowl of water, but on some occasions such as this one they made an exception.

Arianne was helped into the water, washing her hair and body before soaking in the relaxing water for quite awhile before she was forced out of it before her skin could wrinkle. That would not be the way she wished to appear before her future subjects.

Once she was helped out and her hair bound up in a couple of towels, they sat her down in a chair to start rubbing oils on her skin to make it shine and look full of life. Obella insisted that she wished to help, and no one could tell her no, so Obara helped show her how to rub the oil on her legs, for her eldest cousin was one of the best of all of their family at it and thus was best equipped to show her current youngest sibling how to do it.

After a break for a lunch and for the rest of her family to get into their own outfits, they worked on her hair. That took the most time out of anything. Her curls were not always the most cooperative, and so a long time was spent simply brushing it over and over, more oil being rubbed into her hair to make it shine.

Once they had managed to tame her curls, they worked on styling it. Part of the ceremony would include her father giving her a new circlet, so they had to account for that. They ended up leaving much of her hair loose, with some strands braided with shining gold thread adding some variety.

And then came her dress.

Arianne was somewhat reluctant to admit how often she had prayed to look beautiful once she grew, but her prayers had a result. She was far from the flat chested and somewhat pudgy little girl that she had once been, with a build that seemed to favor her mother more than her father’s side of the family, though the rest of her features were common in Dorne.

They dressed her in a Martell orange dress, the silk painted with red suns pierced with golden spears and other artistic designs, enhancing her features even more.

Her jewelry came next. On her bare arms she wore a coiled snake armlet her uncle had given her, and several bangles her mother had given her as an early nameday gift. Her necklace featuring a ruby sun dangling from a chain of gold with smaller golden spears was a gift from her father. She wore two rings on each hand, two with amber gems and two with ruby gems, but both set in gold.

She wore no makeup other than a simple gloss on her lips and some red kohl on her eyelids.

When she looked at herself in the mirror, she almost could not believe that this was truly her.

Obara had left a little while ago with a complaining Lia and Obella, but her other four cousins were there and formed her honor guard as they walked to the throne room.

Arianne would enter alone, so her cousins all left her outside the door to take their places after embracing her and kissing her cheek.

And then, with a smile the guards tried to hide, the doors open and she walked into the throne room.

_Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken._

She silently repeated their house words as she walked towards the dais where her father and mother were sitting on the thrones, knowing that the world was watching, as self-important as that sounded. Dorne’s enemies would take any sign of weakness from her as a sign that Dorne was not strong, and she refused to let that happen, so she stood tall and confident despite all of the eyes on her.

Even after Maron Martell signed the treaty to bring Dorne into the Seven Kingdoms under the watch of Daeron the Good, they had kept many of their traditions. As they were still a Princely house and that had not changed, this ceremony was one of them.

When Arianne had climbed the dais and stood before her father, she gave him a small curtsey, only rising when he stood and gently lifted her chin with one hand.

Prince Doran’s face was as solemn as it ever was when he was performing his role as the Ruler of Dorne, but his eyes were shining with affection as he looked at her before gesturing for his consort to hand him the object in her arms.

“Arianne Nymeros Martell, my heir, your future Ruling Princess of Dorne,” he said in a loud, clear voice as he crowned her with circlet made up of a thick golden band etched with spears and suns that led to a flattened ruby in the shape of a sun that was pierced with a golden spear in the center.

Arianne did not stop herself from smiling when she turned to the cheering crowd and bowed her head at them.

Once more, she swore to do her best to live up to her people’s hopes and dreams for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this house we let Arianne, Doran, and Mellario have good relationships with each other.
> 
> Also in this house, we let Arianne think about her grandmother who was a ruler in her own right when she makes a decision because it would not make any sense that she wouldn't.
> 
> A small benefit of how we get barely any info about previous Martells: I can do whatever the heck I want with who they married and how many of them there were :D  
> Also, fun fact: I originally toyed with the idea that it was Mellario that had an aunt that married a Braavosi and that she got into contact with after marrying Doran, but ended up discarding it for now. I might reuse the idea for something though, I'm not sure.
> 
> We will see more about Arianne and Daemon's relationship next chapter. I wanted to add it into this chapter, but I felt like it would remove a bit of the weight from this chapter given how in the end it's mostly about her relationship with her parents in a world where she doesn't think they're discarding her. Also, it might be best to have Daemon be knighted before the heavy stuff happens.
> 
> Kaija is Sarella's birth mother. She shows up at Sunspear or Planky Town occasionally to check on her daughter, and she's actually good friends with both Oberyn and Ellaria.
> 
> I'm sorry for not describing the dress, I am just terrible at it. Please imagine it however you wish!
> 
> Also, I'm sorry for no Myriah this chapter. I actually meant to have her first PoV this chapter, but the timeline fit better if I moved it to the next chapter.
> 
> Finally, I start a new job tomorrow! It's part time, but I'm going to try and get at least one chapter out a week.


	7. Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Myriah has a dream. Oberyn is a good dad and listens. Dorea is an adorable baby.

**Sunspear, 293**

**_Myriah_ **

_Myriah was in the fountain city again._

_Once again, the streets were deserted. The city was beautiful, with fountains everywhere and beautiful buildings with artistic stonework like the Sun and Spear Towers in her home were, but it was quiet. A place that felt like it should be filled with life was instead left in silence._

_Like before, some instinct pulled her through the empty streets towards the great river. She desperately wanted to go wade into it, but some sort of invisible force kept her from reaching it._

_Unlike before, she heard a voice in her mind, a gentle voice that seemed to have all the strength of the world behind it._

_“Myriah, my child,” the voice called out, “come to me with your family. Bring Arianne and Elia with you when you wade into my shores, for I have a gift for you, one that will help protect you and all of my children in the future.”_

_As the words were spoken, the river rose, lapping at her feet. “I will be waiting.”_

When Myriah woke in the Tower of the Sun, the part of Sunspear where the members of House Martell lived, she could swear that she felt the water still lapping at her legs, like she had been there at the river instead of in her own bed.

After rushing to dress in a simple outfit and accidentally waking Balerion up from where he had curled up at her feet, she made her way to her father’s room, praying that he would be there.

To her relief, he was indeed in his rooms. He was laying on his stomach and watching Dorea babble to him about the little stuffed toys she was waving around, smiling at her and interjecting with questions of his own every so often.

Oberyn looked up when she came in, his smile fading to a worried frown. “Myriah? Has something happened?” he asked, sitting up.

“I… I think I heard Mother Rhoyne,” she shakily said, still barely believing what she had heard in that dream.

Even if she hadn’t her father’s full attention when she walked in, she definitely had it now. Her papa- for that’s what he was, the fact that she was technically his niece had never made a difference to him and he had never made her feel less than the rest of her sisters- quickly got Dorea distracted by getting her to notice that Balerion had wandered into the room before turning to her.

He listened as she spoke of the reoccurring dream she’d been having, how she had thought it was nothing the first few times. He asked her to describe the city with as much detail as she could remember, but otherwise stayed quiet as she explained what she had heard.

Oberyn kept frowning in thought, keeping his attention on her even as he grabbed Dorea and pulled her away from where she was trying to pull on Balerion’s tail, skillfully distracting the baby with one of her stuffed toys. “That sounds like an unruined Ny Sar,” he finally said after she had finished speaking.

Myriah relaxed. She had never thought that her father would simply brush off her dreams as nothing, but she hadn’t dared hope that he might have an answer. “Ny Sar?”

“Yes. I’ve been to the ruins before when visiting the Rhoyne. What you saw in your dream sounds like our ancestral city before it was destroyed.”

“Why would I be seeing Ny Sar? Why don’t I just see the Rhoyne if it’s Mother Rhoyne that’s trying to contact me?”

“Because even apart from our most famous ancestor, that’s where most of the Rhoynar that fled to Dorne came from. Princess Nymeria took all of the people of her city with her. There were some from Ghoyan Drohe further up the river, but not all of them came and Ny Sar had a bigger population to begin with as far as we know. The rest were made up of those who were able to flee the battles and ended up in Ny Sar before Princess Nymeria left.”

“Ah.” All of Dorne’s children were told stories of their most famous ancestors from practically the moment they were born, and Nymeria of Ny Sar and Mors Martell were foremost among them. Said stories didn’t necessarily mention what cities the Rhoynar had come from.

Oberyn finally turned his gaze from her, looking at the youngest snake with a pensive expression. “Dorea’s old enough to travel, and I doubt that your aunt would turn down a chance to visit Norvos. There’s nothing pressing for us to take care of in the next few moons, as far as I am aware. It will not be hard to convince Doran to let our entire family visit the Rhoyne and leave Manfrey in charge.”

Myriah sighed, grabbing Dorea when she reached for her and clutching onto her baby sister for comfort. “You want me to talk to him, don’t you,” she whispered, looking away.

“Has something happened between you two?”

Looking up at her papa, seeing the concern in his eyes… why couldn’t he have been her birth father as well? Why couldn’t she be the blood daughter of both him and madre?

There were no words to describe how guilty that wish made her. She remembered her mama, how she held her on her lap and brushed her hair and sang her songs in Rhoynish. She knew that it wasn’t her madre she remembered, for Ellaria had laughingly told her and all of her siblings that Abuelo Harmen could fire all of the prisonkeepers and simply have her sing to torture the people sent to the Hellholt’s dungeons. She knew that there was no way that Oberyn could be her papa and Elia, the daughter of her abuela, the Ruling Princess Loreza, could be her mama.

But the guilt didn’t stop her from wanting.

“I heard you and Tío Dorry arguing the other day,” she finally said.

There were a few moments of silence where Oberyn was no doubt trying to figure out what that could mean, and once he did he cursed. In the Summer Islander tongue this time, she noted. Unsurprising, as Tía Kaija was currently visiting Sunspear and Sarella had decided to spend the night on her ship. (Their parents probably would have as well had Dorea been any older.)

Before her papa could say anything, Myriah continued in a weak voice, still clutching onto her baby sister, “I don’t… I don’t want to use _that_ name again. Ever.”

As far as she was concerned, Rhaenys Targaryen had died the day her _father-_ even in her mind, she spat out that word because Rhaegar Targaryen would _never_ deserve that title- had run off with an underaged girl and left his wife and her children to the mercy of madmen. Myriah had been born when Ser Galahad had fled with that nameless girl to the Hellholt, knowing that the Ullers were completely loyal to House Nymeros Martell and would protect her at all costs.

Why would she ever want to resurrect that poor girl? Let her have died with her mama and brother like the rest of the world assumed.

Myriah had looked down, trying desperately not to cry, when her father took her into his arms. Dorea had also made distressed noises and turned as best as she could to hug her sister.

“Myriah, your uncle won’t force you to do anything,” her papa whispered to her, gently stroking her hair. “If you tell him that you don’t want to take the throne, no one will force you to. We have more than one plan in mind to secure Dorne.”

“I don’t know what I want,” she whispered desperately, burying her head in his shoulder.

Her papa just kissed her head and kept stroking her hair. “There’s no shame in that, Myriah. You haven’t even reached your thirteenth nameday yet. You have plenty of time to decide what you want to do with your life. It is not as if you have no other options. Arianne would be delighted to have you stay in Sunspear with her, and there are many other paths you could take. You could even be the first of my daughters to stop disappointing the fools that think themselves to be worthy of you.”

Myriah laughed at that. Obara certainly wasn’t ever going to marry or have children if she had any other option, and Tyene would refuse anyone that would require her to leave Sunspear. Nym and Sarella had both admitted they were open to marriage or having a permanent paramour, but Nym had not yet found a partner and Sarella was too young and hadn’t flowered yet, let alone come anywhere close to being of age.

(As far as their father was concerned, they could do whatever they wanted sexually so long as they were careful and took precautions, but only after they had their moonblood. Their mother had agreed, though she had added that perhaps waiting a couple years longer would be best. Considering she was a woman, their father had said they should probably listen to her over him on these kinds of subjects.

Their uncle had let out an extremely long and drawn out sigh when Arianne had cheerfully told him what his brother and goodsister had advised. He seemed to let out a lot of those when it involved their side of the family.)

After a moment, she finally extracted herself from her papa’s hold and smiled at him. “I’ll think about it,” she said.

“There’s no hurry, little sunray,” Oberyn said, smiling sightly at her before kissing her on the head.

Dorea seemed to want to be a part of the conversation and babbled up at her, grabbing onto the collar of her dress, looking at her with wide brown eyes. Myriah smiled down at her baby sister and kissed her on the forehead. “Don’t worry Doree, I’m okay. Your hugs always help!”

Whether Dorea actually understood her or not was in question, but she still beamed up at her and babbled something else.

After a minute, Myriah stood up, carefully cradling her sister in her arms. “Is Tío Dorry in his solar?”

“Last I checked. Ellaria said something about talking to him about something she and Mellario were doing.”

“I should probably tell him now. If this entire family is planning to go visit Ny Sar, it will take far longer than any of us would wish to plan. You’ve had far too many kids for that.”

Her papa just laughed as he herded them out the door. “Bring that up to your madre! She’s brought me four of you already!”

“And likely will give you a couple more.”

“And that will mean more daughters to love and annoy Doran with! What’s the problem with that?”

Myriah snorted, walking down the halls to the Prince’s Solar. She didn’t mind, that’s for certain.

She enjoyed being a big sister, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was fun. Originally I meant to have this take place in 294 rather than 293, but then ended up adjusting the timeline and forgetting about it until halfway through writing it. Which meant I had to restart it. Fun.
> 
> That's why this is shorter, sorry about that. I thought about having Arianne's talk with Daemon in this chapter, but I think having Myriah talk to Oberyn deserved it's own chapter.
> 
> I really want to imagine Balerion being a giant Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest Cat because those things are like over three feet and it seems right. But those things also have so much fur and he lives in a desert, so I'm not sure if I want to do that to the good kitty.
> 
> Ellaria can't sing. I have no idea how this headcanon started but it is a thing now. She and Doran bond over it. (Elia and Mellario both had musical training, and Oberyn is decent at it. He won't win any awards, but no one is going to beg him to shut up and spare their ears.)
> 
> So. Myriah and the throne.  
> It's not necessarily the idea that she would be Queen that she has a problem with so much as she never wants to take the Targaryen name again because of what it involves, and she knows that a lot of her legitimacy would come from that. There are other reasons she's wary about it, but that's the major one.
> 
> Finally, Dorry and Doree are pronounced the same way. It took Oberyn referring to Dorea by that name for it to finally sink in that he was her namesake. He probably cried about how much he appreciated that gesture to Mellario later. Mellario told Ellaria who told Oberyn, and they were happy that he appreciated it.


	8. A Possible Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arianne and Daemon talk about their relationship, and what could happen in the future.

**The Rhoyne**

**_Arianne_ **

Arianne would admit to having been slightly dense concerning her dreams. Of course Mother Rhoyne had been sending them to her in hindsight, but she had failed to consciously realize it until Myriah and her uncle had come into the Prince’s Solar where she, both of her parents, and her aunt had gathered to tell them of how she had heard someone that could only be Mother Rhoyne speak to her in her latest dream.

However, in her defense, her own dreams had not exactly been focused on the Rhoyne itself.

No, she had dreamt of the rivers of Dorne. In them, she had carefully redirected the rivers- usually the Greenblood, but the Brimstone had shown up a few times, and so had the Torrentine- and made the desert bloom with life, growing more than just what was needed to feed their own people, creating canals through their cities, making it so that people did not have to fight over the wells any longer.

She had assumed that the dreams were only of what she wished she could do for Dorne, and so she had not said a word about them. She hadn’t wanted anyone to remind her of reality, even unintentionally.

Though perhaps that would not be reality any longer. If Mother Rhoyne had indeed spoken to Myriah, telling her that she had a gift for them…

Lia had been blessed with dreams too, though nothing as substantial as theirs had been. She simply had dreams of swimming or floating in the river. They couldn’t even quite tell what river she was imagining. They _think_ it was a river in Dorne- likely the Brimstone, which was the area she would likely be the Lady of one day- but they were unsure.

Whatever her sixth cousin saw, the fact remained that they had to go to the river of their ancestors. That was not in question, and Prince Doran had begun preparations for their entire family to leave as soon as possible.

As soon as possible turned out to be a moon and a half after that day, surprisingly.

Their entire family had come aboard one of their family’s ships- her uncle, aunt, and cousin, her mother and baby brother, even Quentyn had come home from Yronwood when word had been sent to him. Come home with a massive crush on Ynys, even. Arianne had to force herself not to tease him about it quite yet. It would be a little too cruel considering how she knew that Ynys only saw him as a little kid the last time she checked. That may change, but that was likely a couple years off. Her little brother was currently going through puberty, and that was not particularly attractive, unfortunately for him.

It was not just the Martells, however. Her Tía Nayara had also been invited to come, and she had brought her twin children with her, the two only a couple years younger than her.

(Twins had seemed to be somewhat common in her extended family. Her Abuelo Maron and Tío Tremond Gargalen had been twins, and their cousin Manfrey had fathered twins as well. At this point, she wondered if she herself would be blessed with twins. She wouldn’t find out for several more years, however; the earliest she would marry would be eighteen, and she- with full support from her father- would prefer to wait longer.)

But Nayara came because it was thought that having someone so connected to the Rhoynar with them would be a good idea. House Nymeros Martell were taught the traditions of their ancestors, yes, but they were a Dornish house. Many traditions were passed down, but they had also been somewhat changed over the centuries.

All in all, the ship was practically full to bursting with their family. Unlike what many would assume, the largest cabin was not claimed by the Prince of Dorne and his consort. No, they had settled for the second largest, leaving the largest to Oberyn and Ellaria, who had to share with Dorea (who wasn’t even a year old and needed her parents) and Obella. They needed the space far more.

That left Arianne to share a smaller cabin with Tyene. She did not mind that. They had shared a crib once Tyene had been born, had shared a bed in the nursery after that, and were still as good as twins even now.

At least, she didn’t mind it until after they passed Volantis and were well on their way to Ny Sar, when they passed by someone her uncle knighted not long ago, one who her father had asked to join them, but who she had managed to avoid up until now.

Arianne stared awkwardly at Daemon Sand.

Daemon stared back at her, equally as awkwardly.

Tyene just stared at both of them with an exasperated and annoyed look on her face.

This continued until the third daughter of Oberyn Martell finally got tired of dealing with them and somehow managed to throw both of them into their cabin before either of them could so much as blink.

“You’ll get out when you two idiots finally talk about how much you want to fuck each other!” Tyene yelled as soon as the door slammed shut.

Both sixteen-year-olds blinked at the door in surprise.

Finally, Daemon shook his head. “And this is why she’s the third scariest Sand Snake.”

“Third? Who beats her?” Arianne asked in curiosity. She’d personally rank her favorite cousin as the most dangerous simply because of how angelic she looked and how easily it made people underestimate her, so finding someone that had spent time with them thinking otherwise was a surprise.

“Obella and Dorea.”

“…They’re babies.”

_“Exactly._ They could make you do anything they wanted just because of how cute they are.”

Arianne just rose an eyebrow before shrugging. Maybe he was right. Maybe he wasn’t. She didn’t have much to fear from her cousins, cute or not, so it did not matter much to her.

She sighed, looking away from him. Looking at him, seeing how much he had grown since the day four years ago when her uncle had arrived from Godsgrace with Daemon in tow, announcing him as his squire… that did not make breaching the topic of their relationship any easier.

Nor did the memory of that night a few moons ago help.

She had always thought Daemon to be handsome, but other from gossiping with Tyene and Nym she hadn’t truly thought about it for years, and even when she had she tried to ignore it.

But then there had been that feast thrown after Dorea’s presentation to the court. Another Martell child, the newest daughter of one of their beloved Princes, reaching three moons of age was something to celebrate, and celebrate Sunspear did.

The focus had been on the proud parents and baby herself, at least until Dorea had been taken back to the nursery, and also on Harmen Uller, who drank a little too much wine and started blubbering about how amazing all of his grandbabies were and how much he loved them. The Lord of the Hellholt was an interesting man, that’s for certain.

No one had seemed to notice the Heir to the Sunchair steal away with the Bastard of Godsgrace for a little while.

Nothing extreme had happened. They had only shared some very enjoyable kisses and a few caresses before returning to the feast.

But it had still been something that meant a lot to her, and that she suspected meant a lot to him.

Nothing further had happened after that. Her uncle had kept him busy in preparation for his knighthood, and they hadn’t had much time to talk. After that, he had gone back to Godsgrace for awhile, only coming back after his father’s betrothal to Allyria Dayne was finalized.

(She really couldn’t blame him for asking to stay in Sunspear after that. Allyria was nice and she counted her as a friend… but she was also only a little older than Nym. If her father had married a woman not much older than her she wouldn’t want to hang around either. Why Ryon Allyrion had waited so long to marry was beyond her. He had a couple of younger siblings, but it was still odd.)

After several long moments before they awkwardly tried to avoid looking at each other, Daemon finally sighed and asked, “Why have you been avoiding me?”

Arianne just stared at him. “Daemon. I have been in Sunspear this entire time. You have been going in and out, and have spent quite awhile in Godsgrace. How am I the one that has been avoiding you?”

“…Point,” he admitted, inclining his head. “Mutual avoidance then!”

She didn’t even bother trying to conceal her eyeroll. Sometimes it was clear that her uncle had been a strong influence on him. Oberyn Martell sometimes used the same exact tone of voice when saying something exasperating.

She stayed silent for a moment, trying to sort out her thoughts. “Daemon… please tell me that you did not choose to come back to Sunspear rather than anywhere else because of me, because of what happened between us.”

The hurt look on his face made her desperately wish she could take back those words. “Do you not want me here?”

“That’s the complete opposite of what I want!” Arianne snapped before groaning, closing her eyes, and buried her face in her hands. “That is definitely what I do not want,” she whispered, sitting back on her bed.

“…I don’t understand. What’s the problem if you want me here?”

She sighed again, forcing herself to look at him. As hard as it was, he deserved that much. “The problem is it would not be fair to you,” she said quietly. “I… I want a relationship between us. But it would not be fair for you, to simply keep you in my bed knowing that we could not marry.”

“And why couldn’t we? I could ask-“

“Don’t! He would just say no!”

“How do you know that? Oberyn is married to Ellaria, and her parents weren’t married.”

Arianne sighed again. Somehow, she knew that this would come up. She knew how to counter this, little as she wished to. “My uncle is my uncle. Padre has almost given up on controlling him, and so simply chooses to mitigate the damage caused. Not only that, but Ellaria is the only child Harmen Uller has ever fathered. She has an uncle, but Ulwyck has made clear he has no desire to marry or father any children of his own. She or one of her children was always going to inherit the Hellholt. And my uncle… he had never been destined to sit on the Sunchair.”

Arianne wanted desperately to be a good Princess of Dorne, to bring her country to a new golden age where it would flourish and grow. She refused to jeopardize that.

But there was still a part of her that wished she could have that and still be free to choose the consort she wanted.

Yes, she was only sixteen. Marriage was at least two years away for her, and likely more. She was under no pressure to produce an heir, not with the sheer amount of family she had at this point. But that did not mean that she did not have any idea of the type of consort she wanted, and the man in front of her fit the criteria in a way that would give her nothing her joy if things had been different.

Daemon didn’t look at her for the longest time. How she wished that she could tell what he was thinking, that she wouldn’t have to wait for whatever he would say.

“And what do you want?”

She blinked. “What?”

“What do you want?”

Despite her best efforts, she had to look away from the sudden intense look in his eyes. “Daemon, what I want does not matter. Again, none of this would be fair to you. You should be able to be with someone that you can marry, that you can have children with, that you can-“

She didn’t realize he had moved until he sat next to her and took her hands. “Ari,” he said softly, making her look at him. “I didn’t ask what was fair. I asked what _you_ want.”

“I want you to stay. I want you as a companion, as a friend… as a- as a lover,” she finally admitted, squeezing his hands tightly.

He smiled at her, a bright one that seemed to lighten the room. “That’s what I want as well. Maybe you’ll be wrong, and we could marry one day.”

Arianne couldn’t stop herself from smiling in return. “Madre told me to take a chance at happiness, no matter how fleeting,” she admitted.

“I hope it’s not fleeting.”

“So do I,” she whispered, leaning forward and hugging him, burying her face in his shoulder.

She still doubted that the day they were separated by duty would never come.

But for now, she would allow herself to hope that a future appeared where she never had to.

* * *

**_Oberyn_ **

Their trip had gone well so far if anyone bothered to ask Oberyn’s opinion. They hadn’t been accosted by any idiotic pirates while they were in the Stepstones, and he hadn’t had to explain to Doran why his daughters made more mischief that would give him another headache!

Or at least, he hadn’t until he was heading back to his cabin and he heard a door open and slam shut and his third daughter yell that whoever it was wouldn’t get out unless they admitted that they wanted to fuck each other.

Oberyn peaked his head around the corner to find an annoyed looking Tyene staring at her door. It didn’t take her long to notice him, and said annoyed look melted away to a calm, serene smile that did nothing to fool him. “Ah, Papa!” she said, bouncing over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

He simply raised an eyebrow at her. “What did you do?” he asked, not bothering to hide his amusement.

“I simply encouraged my favorite cousin to talk to the man she so obviously likes!”

“You locked Arianne and Daemon in a room together,” he said, smirking.

Tyene simply stared at him in false innocence. “The door is not locked. Why are you accusing me of such an act?”

He couldn’t stop himself from laughing at that. “Go check on Obara, I swear her seasickness is getting worse instead of better.”

“Of course!”

After watching her leave to help her poor eldest sister, who for all of her ability with weapons was still brought low by the way their ship rocked, Oberyn turned around and meandered his way over to his brother’s cabin, not bothering to knock before bursting in. “Oh, big brother! I have some news!”

Doran, laying on his bed reading a book, simply let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “Must you?” he asked tiredly.

“I haven’t fulfilled my annoying little sibling quota yet today,” he replied, sitting down on the chair by the bed and propping his feet up on said bed. “Where’s Mel?”

His brother sighed again and closed his book. “With Ellaria, last I heard. I believe she was helping regale the younger snakelings with stories, as we shall reach Ny Sar tomorrow morning and their excitement has reached new heights. What news is so important that you must interrupt my peace?”

“Your daughter seems to have finally decided to talk to Daemon about the fact that they so obviously like each other.”

If someone didn’t know Doran as well as he did, they would miss the slight breath he let out to show his relief. “You mean one of your daughters got sick of it.”

“Yep. Tyene did. Shoved them in a cabin together in fact.”

“Given how she and Arianne are as close as twins, I am unsurprised. Does Ellaria have extra moon tea if it is needed?”

Oberyn couldn’t stop himself from blinking in surprise. “Yes,” he said slowly. They had brought up the idea of conceiving another child here on the Rhoyne, but had not decided yet, and so they had stocked up on the ingredients. “You’re awfully accepting of this.”

Doran simply shrugged. “Daemon is a good man. I would prefer her to be involved with him rather than someone that would harm her or our family.” After a moment, he added, “And Mellario would be displeased if I acted as a forbidding father in this case. She would remind me that we married for love and that I would be a fool to deprive our daughter of as much as I can allow her.”

“That she would.” He didn’t want to ask this next question, but he had to know. “What will you do if this is not a simple teenage crush?”

His brother sighed, looking older than he was. “That is the question,” he said quietly. “I cannot say, for there is so much that will likely change in the next few days alone… and there is also the one question that I cannot bring myself to ask for another three years. I cannot fully say what I would do with my current level of knowledge.”

Now it was Oberyn’s turn to sigh. Myriah all but crying in his arms over how she never wanted to take that name again was something that he would never forget. He had only spoken of that to Ellaria in the privacy of their rooms, but Doran wasn’t blind. He could see for himself that Myriah never wanted to be Rhaenys Targaryen again. He knew as well as they did that it would make things difficult for her to be Myriah Martell should a play for the Iron Throne be made.

Not only that, there was whatever they would find out when they reached Ny Sar, if Mother Rhoyne did indeed have something that they must know.

When Myriah, Arianne, and Lia had left the room after they discussed the dreams they had and made the decision to go to Ny Sar, he, Doran, Ellaria, and Mellario had sat in the solar for awhile longer. One question had been posed:

Why now?

Why was Mother Rhoyne trying to contact them now?

It was said that Mother Rhoyne had given Princess Nymeria a vision, showing her what the damned Valyrians were doing to Chroyane and the other cities farther down the Rhoyne. She was said to have told her to flee with as many people as she could, to protect themselves from what might come.

Some thought that Mother Rhoyne had died, that the Valyrians killed her when they killed, enslaved, or scattered all of the Rhoynar.

For the past nine years, Oberyn and the rest of their family had believed even more than before that those people were wrong. Too much pointed to the fact that she was still there, watching over them.

But why would she only show herself now? Dorne had been in dire straits many times over the past three hundred years alone, and yet never before had anyone claimed to hear Mother Rhoyne.

For all of his curiosity, for all of his want to know how the world works… Oberyn was starting to wonder if he wished to know the answer to that question.

He would find out soon though, whether he wished to or not.

He only hoped that the answer wasn’t as dire as he feared it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize that Arianne and Daemon first had a thing when they were fourteen. I raise you this fact though: I don't give a crap about what canon says concerning this. Not only that, I am sick and tired of so many characters having sex so early in life.
> 
> Quentyn is only twelve. He is a baby with a crush. It's adorable. Good news is that Cletus has zero qualms about teasing him over it, so Arianne doesn't have to worry too much!  
> Oh, and Arianne and Quentyn do have a fairly distant relationship, but it's only because of distance rather than Arianne thinking he'll take her place as the ruler of Dorne. Again, in this house we allow the Martells to have healthy family dynamics.
> 
> So, will Arianne and Daemon be able to marry? That's for me to know and for you all to wait to find out! I will say that it will not be a shotgun wedding. Arianne will carefully use moontea or other contraceptives to keep that from happening. Neither of them want to marry just because of that.
> 
> And next comes a scene I've been extremely excited to write out! It's actually a scene I've had in mind since I started plotting this fic out, so seriously I'm excited.
> 
> And finally, again, I started a tumblr, sunontherhoyne. After thinking about it, I've decided to open my askbox for prompts, specifically for oneshots or very short stories. Please send some in! I really want to keep refining my writing of the characters I love! (And I swear anon is on, I just checked.)


	9. Blessings of the Mother Rhoyne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Martells reach Ny Sar. Myriah, Arianne, and Elia find out exactly why Mother Rhoyne called them... and of what is to come.

**Ny Sar**

**_Myriah_ **

It was a little surprising that no one had started a betting pool on who would run off the ship first.

As it stands, the people that would have bet on Obara would have won.

The eldest of the younger generation of House Martell got horribly seasick. If it had not been for the fact that their entire family were going on this trip, she would have found some sort of excuse to stay in Dorne. Instead, she spent the entire trip either curled up in bed or above deck, leaning over the railing and trying desperately to not be sick yet again.

It was depressing to watch one of the strongest people Myriah knows brought down so low. The babies had all been alarmed too. Obella and Trystane both spent much time with their eldest sister/cousin, trying to cheer her up by reading to her or making up stories about great warriors.

(Tío Doran had smiled bittersweetly at the sight when he saw it. When she had asked, he told her that her papa had done the same for her mama when they were young and Elia had to stay in bed from some sort of illness. He had shared several stories with her though, so as bittersweet as it was they both treasured the memories.)

As soon as the ship stopped near the shore, Obara actually leaped off the ship and swam desperately to shore, where she just collapsed on the sand. “I’m fine!” she yelled. “You guys can take the boats!”

Myriah laughed. So did Arianne and Daemon, both of whom had wandered up to the deck when they heard they were close to Ny Sar. Her parents were there as well, but both looked more exasperated than anything else, likely because they had to grab Lia, Obella, and Trystane to keep them from following in Obara’s footsteps. There was much complaining from that area of the deck.

The rowboats were readied shortly after that, and after a couple of trips, their entire family had joined Obara on the beach. Obella and Trystane tried to make her get up, but failed and eventually let Nym and Tyene drag them away to play in the Rhoyne where Ellaria was letting an excited Dorea splash in the water, Mellario, Doran, and Nayara and her children with them.

After watching the littlest ones play for a little while, Sarella, her favorite sister if she was forced to name one, turned to her. “Do you feel anything?”

Myriah frowned and shook her head. “No. I don’t think Ari or Lia has either.”

Her little sister was busy trying to make Daemon spar with her while her cousin tried not to laugh at them, so she thought that was a fair assumption to make.

Sarella frowned in thought. “Maybe it’s not the right time yet. Wasn’t there that part of the legend regarding the time of day?”

“There was!”

Both sisters definitely did not squeal as they turned around to reveal their father. “Papa! Why do you keep doing that?!?”

Oberyn just smiled at them- and she swore that it was almost the same innocent one that Tyene wore far too often- and sat down next to them. “It is said that the first Rhoynar reached Mother Rhoyne at sunset. She could be waiting to talk to you then… or she could be taking pity on your poor sister and is letting her rest for a little while.”

“What about Quentyn then?”

Their father blinked, turning to see one of the very few males in their family sprawled out near Obara, mouth open and obviously snoring even if he was too far away to hear. He just shrugged and changed the subject. “Do you two want to explore?”

Myriah and Sarella looked at each other and shrugged, not having much better to do and both would admit to wanting to see their ancestral city.

After making a stop to grab their preferred weapons- spears for Myriah and their father, and a bow for Sarella- they set off to explore the ruins.

And ruins they were. After having seen the city in her dreams, Myriah felt like crying as she took in the crumbling buildings and broken fountains, all overgrown with vegetation. “Did _they_ do this in retaliation for Princess Nymeria fleeing with her people?” she asked quietly, not feeling able to speak loudly.

“Some of it,” her father said, just as quietly. “Most of it was simply time taking its toll. Those damned Valyrians spent more time ruining the cities that still had people to enslave. We don’t know for certain, but it seems that they assumed that the inhabitants of Ny Sar fled further up the Rhoyne rather than daring to leave from the mouth, where Volantis was.”

“How did they get past that city?” Sarella asked, turning her attention away from a piece of colored stonework.

That got them a shrug. “Most of the water wizards perished in battle, but there were still some that fled with them, though as far as we know none of them made it to Dorne. And given what happened to Chroyane, some say that Mother Rhoyne herself had a hand in helping them escape.”

“But why would she have them leave?”

“Because she wasn’t able to protect them on the Rhoyne,” Myriah said slowly, kneeling down to trace a cracked stone painted with an image of a boat on the river. “She knew that staying would mean her children’s death, and so she knew the only course of action was to help them leave.”

She could have sworn that she heard her father mutter, “Considering her title, she might have, little as she liked it,” but she wasn’t certain.

She did hear him say, “We have no idea what exactly happened. We do have records from Princess Nymeria and other Rhoynar of their voyage to Dorne, but their flight down the Rhoyne was not something they ever talked much about, and if they did, we have no written word about it.”

They traveled through the city a few minutes longer, looking through more of the city. The palace where their ancestors had lived was the most ruined part, but their father told them there was evidence that much of it seemed to have been done by the Rhoynar rather than the Valyrians, likely to keep their enemies from using anything valuable they had.

By the time they walked back to the riverbank where their family was, the sun was low in the sky. Oberyn split off to do… something with their mother, they did not want to know what, and Sarella went over to where she could see some of their family trying to start a fire.

Myriah, for her part, ended up walking closer to the river, kneeling on the riverbank and closing her eyes. Even now, she couldn’t feel any pull. Had she come too early? Had she misunderstood the dream?

The good news was that she wasn’t able to question herself for long.

The bad news was that she was distracted by one of her younger sisters leaping at her and knocking her down to the dirt.

“’Riah! Why didn’t you and papa and ‘Rella take me with you!”

Myriah sighed as best as she could without getting mud in her mouth. “Lia, you were busy trying to make Daemon spar with you. It’s not our fault you didn’t notice.”

She could sense her sister pouting at her, but didn’t care as she got off her and let her sit back up. “That was boring though. He kept trying to show off to Ari!”

She somewhat doubted that. Whether or not Arianne and Daemon needed to fuck (Tyene and Obara’s words, not hers), he wasn’t the type of person to specifically try and impress a girl that way. Likely Daemon had simply not taken the spar as seriously as Lia had, and thus had exaggerated his movements. Their father was likely to blame for that habit. He kept telling them to take all fights seriously, but whenever their mother came to the training grounds he immediately started showing off to her.

“That might have just been because you made him spar with you right when we got off the ship,” she said dryly, brushing some dirt off of her tunic.

“That can’t be it. Everyone loves sparing with me!”

Myriah couldn’t help but smile at that. It was less that they loved sparring that much, so much as Lia’s enthusiasm was so infectious.

Before she could say anything, confusion took over Lia’s face. “Uh… Myriah?”

“What is it?”

“Does the river seem to be getting closer to you?”

She whirled around to find that her sister was correct. They had been a several feet away from the water, but the distance was closing rapidly. Not even a second after she had turned, the water was lapping at their feet.

Before either of them could do more than stare, the water had covered their legs and something pulled them into the water before they could say a single word.

Once, when Myriah was six, one of the pools in the Water Gardens started to leak, and the water started to spill down a slope. The adults hadn’t been pleased, but all of the kids had been ecstatic at the new slide and continually went down it after some material had been put down to help prevent scrapes. They had all been upset when they had been shooed away so it could be fixed, especially as the Water Gardens had been shut down for the next two days so they could make certain no more maintenance was needed.

This felt a lot like that, like the water was pushing them down towards something, and soon they had landed on their hands and knees in shallow water.

“Myriah! Elia!”

Myriah looked up to see Arianne stumble towards them. “Are you alright?” their cousin asked, concerned and trying to help them stand.

“I think so,” she answered, somewhat shakily as she stood. “You?” she asked, looking around and finding them surrounded by waterfalls feeding into the shallow pool they were standing in.

That got her a grim smile. “Other than the shock of being pulled underwater while calmly floating on the river, I am.”

“I apologize for the surprise. It was easiest to call the three of you to me at that moment, but perhaps I should have waited until you reached the shore, Arianne.”

They whirled around to find that they were not the only ones here.

A tall woman- taller than Obara, who until now was the tallest woman Myriah had ever known- with smooth, beautiful dark olive skin with black curls that reached down to her ankles was walking towards them.

As she came closer, they saw that her dress was not fabric. No, she wore flowing water that clung to her the same way traditional Rhoynish dresses do.

Her face looked ageless, but she would guess her to be at least as old as their own mothers.

Most shocking were her eyes. Instead of the usual brown, amber, or black eyes common among those with Rhoynish blood, her eyes were instead the blue of the Rhoyne.

It was not difficult to figure out who this was.

“Mother Rhoyne?”

Myriah would never know which one of them said her name in such reverence, but the goddess smiled gently at them regardless. “My daughters,” she said, her voice filled with warmth.

Lia stared at her for a moment before saying, “I didn’t think you’d look like this.” Not a moment later, she squeaked and buried her face in Myriah’s side.

Mother Rhoyne simply laughed, not maliciously, but affectionately. “You were not expecting me to have a human form, were you Elia? That is perfectly understandable. I have only physically showed myself to a few of my children. They never left written records of my appearance, and singers seem to prefer more abstract depictions of my form.”

“Who else have you shown yourself to?” Myriah couldn’t stop herself from asking. Yes, there were more important things to ask such as why they were here to begin with, but she was far too curious to not ask.

Mother Rhoyne’s face dropped, a sad expression appearing instead. “I appeared to those Sola led to me for shelter, the first Rhoynar to reach my home… and to your ancestor Nymeria, the one who I convinced to leave my home to save as many of my children as she was able.”

“You told her to leave?” Myriah asked, glancing over and finding her cousin and sister as shocked as her. “The legends say that you just sent her a vision…” she trailed off, realizing that the legends were obviously wrong.

Mother Rhoyne gave her a sad smile. “The legends do not lie. I did show her a vision… a vision of what _they_ were doing to my children. But I also showed myself to her, for I knew that she would need to be convinced to leave me. Speaking to her was the last thing I did before listening to Garin’s pleas and flooded and destroyed those who thought they had a right to conquer my children. I used the rest of my strength to help shield Nymeria and the rest of my children that fled with her, and it took years to recover my strength. Even my beloved consort and the deity you know as the Crab King kept their bickering to the bare minimum while I was weak.”

Myriah looked away, biting her lip. She was a direct descendant of those who had done that to her…

Someone took her hands and clasped them, making her look to see Mother Rhoyne herself holding them and smiling gently at her. “Myriah,” she said with nothing but warmth in her voice, “I do not care for lineages. Any who come to my shores are my children, and you are one of them. I would not have called you here if I did not.”

She couldn’t stop herself from tearing up at that declaration. The goddess smiled at her and laid a hand on her cheek before stepping away.

“For too long I thought that I would never see my children again,” she continued. “Even then I had a connection to all of the waters of the world, but I had made my home here in this river for far too long. Any connection to the rest of the world was faint, and after the way I was weakened after using my strength to fight those who caused so much pain to my children, I despaired and did not believe that would change. Sola visited me occasionally when she left the sky to tell me of their progress, but as much as I appreciated her efforts it was not the connection I longed for.

“And then, one day, I realized that I could sense another place near as strong as I could the Rhoyne itself. Despite not being at my full strength, though I was far stronger than I had been in years, I immediately went to investigate- quite alarming my consort, if I might add, for I left without a single word.

“I found myself in a land I only remember seeing once when I was but a new being searching for a home, a land of sand and sun. I had continued onward, wishing to seek out all of my options and eventually settling down on the Rhoyne, but I did not then.

“There, my children found a new home. It was far from what they knew, but they made new lives for themselves. Nymeria married Mors, and though they married for an alliance, I was proud to consider their souls bound together for all eternity, and mourned with my daughter when he was killed before their dream of unification was realized. More of my children married those of this new land, and though they became Dornish and not Rhoynar, that never changed the fact that they were and would always be my children, and I have done my best to watch over you and your ancestors since that day.”

Finding this piece of information, finding out for certain that their goddess mother had never abandoned them and had no plans to ever do so… that brought peace to Myriah’s heart, just as her insistence that she was her child did.

That answered one question, but there were still several left. Arianne was the next to ask. “Why have you only shown yourself now? I don’t mean to sound accusing, but… Dorne has been faced with dire fates several times, and now there seems to be nothing to indicate that things would be worse.”

Mother Rhoyne smiled reassuringly at her. “You ask nothing but a simple and valid question, Arianne. It is true that I did nothing. When the Doom came to Valyria, I rejoiced. The group that caused so much pain to my children were dead, dead due to their own arrogance. I paid no attention to the one family that fled beforehand, to my shame.

“When they proved they followed in their ancestor’s footsteps and thought to conquer lands that were never theirs, to force people under their rule, I did think of blessing my children with my water magic once more, but I hesitated. Not only was I unsure if I could, for when I first blessed my children with it, I had made the Rhoyne my home long before they came to me for shelter, but I also wondered if blessing them with my magic was a small part of why things had escalated so far and they were forced to flee. I know now that it was not, that those men would never have been satisfied until they ruled all, but then it was a worry.

“And then came the time that they succeeded for two long years.

“It came so suddenly. I spent so long sobbing over what was being done to my children, all of the pain they were being forced to bear. I readied myself to show my wrath against those men, this time making certain that none of those men would survive to threaten what remained of my children no matter what it cost me, but to my pride my children proved to be strong enough to not need my help.”

Here Mother Rhoyne sighed, looking drawn out and tired. “And now… now there is something coming that, if left unchecked, shall bring more ruin than the arrogant men that thought themselves gods ever could, for they sought to simply subjugate other lives, not utterly destroy them.”

“What… what is coming then?”

“The Nameless. The one that struck Sola down from the sky and imprisoned her sister Luna, the keeper of the stars. The one that will not stop unless all life is extinguished. The one that was the cause of what you know as the Long Night… and the one that will not stop until another has begun, and this time succeeds at permanently snuffing out the light.”

None of them could say a single word. Myriah knew that her face was showing the horror she felt, and had she been able to tear her eyes away from the goddess she knew her sister and cousin would have the same expression.

Mother Rhoyne smiled bitterly, looking away for a brief moment, no doubt thinking of the memories of those times. “We have no idea how the Nameless came to be. We had no warning, no indication that things would take such a turn until the cursed day when we heard Sola’s scream as darkness overcame her. For too long we thought her dead, and Luna with her as no other light came to brighten the darkness.

“The cold came next, freezing the ground and much of the world’s waters. My consort and I managed to help our children flee south of where the Rhoyne meets the Selhoru, but things were still dire. Too many died of the cold even then, and starvation took others, for there was not enough land.

“Worse than that were the demons that the Nameless created to be his champions. The Others, the creatures of darkness and cold. Westeros was faced with the bulk of them, but Essos was not spared. It was part of why we evacuated our children from much of the Rhoyne, for if the bitter cold did not kill them those demons would, though their reach was thankfully limited past the Selhoru.

“Eventually, we were contacted by a group led by what the Westerosi know as the Last Hero. I do not agree with that title, for how could they have been the last heroes the world would ever see? But it is a poetic name, I will agree with that much.

“They told us that they would make one final desperate stand, the Battle for the Dawn it is referred as now. They asked that if there was anything that we could do to aid them, to help bring back the dawn and drive the Nameless away from the world, to do it at a certain time.

“We obliged. When that time came, we gathered at where the Nameless’ influence met our own, and we sang. Though those days have long since passed, there was once true power in song. Deities- I told you that there were few times that I appeared to my children, and this was one of them- humans, and animals alike gathered together to sing that song.

“To our joy and relief, it broke the barriers on the prison Luna was kept in, and she was able to free enough stars to revive Sola, who took her rightful place in the sky just as the Others were driven away, the Nameless losing most of it’s agents and being forced to flee from the light.

“As much as we wished, his power was not destroyed as utterly as we had hoped, and after all of these millennia it seems like he feels it is time to try and succeed where he had failed the first time.”

Silence reigned for far too long.

Tales of the Long Night were not as common in Dorne as they were in other regions. Their parents had still told them the legends as children, so they were still familiar with the tales that both the Westerosi and the Rhoynar had of that time. Oberyn had also spoken of other versions of the legend he had heard during his travels, so they were well versed in all of the tales of the Long Night.

But they had been just that to them, legends, simple stories to bug their parents to tell them before bed.

Finally, Arianne asked with a shaking voice, “How long?”

“We are not certain,” Mother Rhoyne admitted. “Sola has felt the Nameless test her strength, but so far there has been nothing but simple prodding. The coming winter will be the time, and that will come… perhaps six, seven years from now.”

“The longest summer before the longest night,” Myriah couldn’t stop herself from whispering. “How are we supposed to stop the Nameless? It survived last time…”

“The Nameless survived because it’s power was not broken. Not all of it’s agents were killed, and that included the one it poured most of it’s power into. That agent survived, but with how strong the connection between them is, if that agent is killed, the Nameless will have no power any longer. It will have no influence in the world any longer, and the world will go back to how it was before the Long Night- a time that only us deities can remember, a time where the years progressed as they should.”

Surprisingly, it was Lia that thought of what that could mean first. “Do you mean the seasons? Like, summer and winter only lasting like a year and not tons of them?” she asked, tilting her head as she did.

Mother Rhoyne smiled at her. “You are on the right track, Elia. The seasons lasting as long as they do is not at all natural. But all four seasons- spring, summer, autumn, and winter- are all meant to occur naturally in a single year.”

“They are?”

“It sounds strange to you, I know, but yes. They are. But as to the other part of your question, Arianne, again, if the Nameless’ agent is stopped, his hold shall be broken. To help, I am returning water magic to the world, as I should have years before.

“You likely wonder how water magic will help. The Nameless is a creature of darkness, his agents cold personified. But they bring snow and ice with them, and snow and ice are still water, only solidified. A water wizard can turn the ice back to liquid water, and change the temperature enough that the heat will harm the Others just as much as the sun does. The Wall that you know stands far to the North of your lands was created to keep the Nameless’ agents away, with magic long forgotten. A day will come when word is spread from those who live there, calling the people to battle for the world once more. The fight shall not be easy, but if things go as I hope, this Long Night shall not last an entire generation.”

Before they could say anything in response to this, Mother Rhoyne stepped closer to them. “You three shall be the first children of mine to have inherited the blessing of water magic since Nymeria led the children she could save, but you shall not be the last. There are others that shall, in your own family and elsewhere in Dorne, but you are the beginning.

“Arianne, you wish to be the Princess of Dorne your people deserve, to bring your realm into greater prosperity.

“Myriah, you wish to protect your family and keep others from feeling the grief that you and your family have felt.

“And Elia, you have the potential and chance to be whatever you wish.

“That is why you three are the first. Your lineage and times of birth do make giving my blessing to you easier, but that is not why I am choosing you. I am choosing you three for who you are, who you shall become in the future.”

After those words, Mother Rhoyne stepped forward and embraced Arianne, water enveloping them both. Once it receded, the goddess smiled at her cousin and helped her regain her balance.

And then she stepped forward to Myriah herself.

Her embrace was as warm and comforting as her madre’s had ever been, and she barely noticed the water coming and embracing them both, seeming to settle deep within her body and bringing more warmth than a day in the sun ever could.

The goddess had some advice for her as they embraced.

“Myriah, you are not the ancestors you fear you shall one day be. You never will be. Your heart is too good for that. You can take whatever path you wish, and you shall always be Myriah Nymeros Martell. That will never change.”

Once she finished those words, the water around them receded, but somehow Myriah could still feel it in her, could still feel the water surrounding them, like she could call for it at any moment.

Mother Rhoyne helped her regain her balance just as she had for Arianne, before she turned to Lia and repeated the process.

Once she had stepped back from them, Mother Rhoyne smiled at them all. “Arianne, Myriah, Elia. If you need me, call upon me without any hesitation. I will always answer. Once you begin to use your gifts, you shall no doubt find many ways to help you and your people, but if at any point you are unsure, do not hesitate to ask me.”

With that, the waters around them enveloped them once more, and Mother Rhoyne kept smiling at them as they were lifted away from area they had talked to the deity in.

Before Myriah was even aware of what was happening, they were back on the riverbank, gasping for ear and hearing their family’s shouts.

Myriah was helped up by her madre, Ellaria asking her what had happened and her father and uncle doing the same for Lia and Arianne, when her cousin pushed her father away and knelt in the river, her eyes closed and hands laying on the water’s surface.

After a brief moment, the water started rising around her.

Arianne opened her eyes and looked at their shocked family, giving them a tired smile. “We have much to talk about,” she said softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Were you guys surprised by this chapter? >:3
> 
> I've had the idea of Mother Rhoyne herself appearing since I ended up combining the Rhaenys lives au I had in mind with a water magic au. They needed some way to get water magic back, why not the goddess herself returning it to them?  
> I do realize that wintercameandwent did do the same idea in their story, Pick a God and Find Your Justice (which I highly suggest if you have not read it yet), but I feel like this is different enough than that scenario that I do not feel bad about it.
> 
> And also, the Long Night.  
> Interestingly, this was not something I had in mind during the original Rhaenys lives au. I've always felt that the Others belonged in a different story. (I mean, let's face it, Jon's storyline is only really tied to everyone else's because of the Starks.)  
> However, I decided to add this into it, partially because I was a little unsatisfied by my original climax, for it felt somewhat anticlimatic and that there needed to be some more things explored.
> 
> But as you can see, what happened during the Long Night is a combination of all the legends surrounding it. The Nameless is what is what followers of the Red God know as the Great Other. In my version, the Last Hero and Azor Ahai were the same person. The Battle for the Dawn is the final battle the Westerosi had with the Others, and the song Mother Rhoyne spoke about was the one the Rhoynar tell of, where the Old Man of the River and the Crab King quit their bickering and joined in a secret song to bring back the light.  
> My version will probably be different than whatever we'll find out... but let's fact it, we're probably not getting the entire story in WoW, and aDoS is years away, so who cares?
> 
> Also, yes, Luna is another name for the moon, and yet she's mentioned as the keeper of the stars. The Rhoynar knew that the moon reflected light (somehow... don't think about it too much) and instead say that she makes certain the stars are alright.
> 
> For the record, there is a level of "all myths are true" regarding deities in this world. Mother Rhoyne is not the only one around. Feel free to speculate on what other gods exist, for I will say that only the Rhoynar will have a large part in this story.
> 
> Oh, and I will say that Rhaegar was right in that three people were needed. Unfortunately for him, he was still wrong! They weren't all his kids, nor was he even correct on what they were needed for! Elia, Rhaella, Loreza, and like 100 other people are currently rubbing this in his face in the afterlife.
> 
> Anyway, if you have any more questions or want something clarified, feel free to ask them in the comments!


	10. Concerning the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellaria speaks to the other women about the future. She and Oberyn then discuss some things. Lots of discussions! Also Myriah and Sarella wish their parents weren't the way they are sometimes.

**Norvos**

**_Ellaria_ **

The bells were ringing once again.

However, the children in the room didn’t start crying, thank Mother Rhoyne. Dorea let out a loud noise of protest, but pretty much just rolled over and went back to sleep, much to Ellaria’s relief. Her daughter did not enjoy being forcibly awakened. Amaro, Nayara’s youngest, didn’t even stir. Unsurprising if Nayara’s tales of her son sleeping through the worst of the storm that had hit Dorne’s eastern coast last year were true, and she was not one to heavily exaggerate her tales.

Trystane did briefly wake to blearily blink up at his mother. “Wha’ bells those?” he sleepily asked.

Mellario smiled down at her son. “This combination of Narrah and Nyel, ringing together in this order? This combination starts downtime, so to speak, where you can choose what to do. Many take this time to go to the shops down in the city, or to take care of some household business they had been neglecting. It is usually followed by Noom ringing out, calling the people to prayers.”

The six-year-old blinked, seemed to think about that for a second, before scowling and indignantly saying, “I wanna sleep!” and rolling over and doing just that.

All three women had a hard time stifling their giggles after that declaration.

Once they had somewhat controlled themselves, Mellario smiled wistfully at her son. “I remember when I was his age. My own mother, Enyo, insisted that we go down to the shops most days it was possible, even when we needed nothing. She told me that talking to people and learning how to interact with them would only help me as we got older. All I usually wished to do was simply stay in and do nothing. I will admit that her insistence was to my benefit, but I had always told myself that I would ask my children if they wished to come with me. We would adhere to the Bells… but I still wished to give them a choice on how exactly to adhere to our faith.”

It took some effort for Ellaria to keep herself from biting her lip. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nayara look away. “Mellario…” she started before cutting herself off, not certain what she could even say. She had not been born in Dorne, yes, but she had been born in Abulu, on the Isle of Women, to the descendants of some of the Rhoynar. Even before she had come into her father’s care in Dorne, she had been surrounded by some of the traditions of Mother Rhoyne. She had no idea how to help her with this.

Her goodsister simply gave her a wan smile. “Ellaria, I realized my children would have to be Dornish the moment I agreed to Doran’s proposal. I accepted that long ago. Everything that has happened in the past few days… it has simply brought things to the forefront, and I sometimes wonder of a world where these shadows are not lingering over us.”

That got the other two women in the room to sigh, for that had been hanging over them as well.

Ellaria knew that something would happen while at Ny Sar. She knew that Mother Rhoyne would not hurt the girls, would take care of all of her children and would never dream of harming them. That hadn’t stopped the fear she felt when she and Oberyn had rushed back to the riverbank upon hearing their family’s cries, finding that two of their daughters and their niece had disappeared under the water.

Thankfully it had only lasted a couple of minutes at most before the water had receded and they were returned with news from Mother Rhoyne herself.

It wasn’t water magic returning that surprised her. She had suspected that would happen for near a decade, since the day of her wedding, when water had covered both her and Oberyn and healed the fresh cuts that had been made on their palms.

It was _why_ it had returned that was concerning her.

In response to Mellario’s words, Nayara let out a bitter laugh, her dark brown curls bouncing as she shook her head. “As relieved as I am to know that Mother Rhoyne wishes to help us, to keep us safe… in this scenario I very much wish she never had to.”

“Yes, the Long Night,” Mellario said, just as bitter as the laugh Nayara had given out. “Norvos does not have many legends of that as other places do. But the ones we do have make me wish that was all they had been, legends, and that is before I take the Westerosi tales into account.” She stayed silent for a moment before asking, “Ellaria, are there any tales from the Summer Isles about those times?”

She thought for a moment, before slowly saying, “Not truly. Abulu tells the same stories as the Rhoynar, but the rest of the islands do not. There are some legends of a night that never ends, but not with the tales of heroism so central to other tales. They are more focused on people banding together, of a community helping each other during the long wait for the next day to dawn.”

Both other women smiled at that. “I think I much prefer those stories,” Nayara said wistfully before sighing. “But those stories aren’t the ones we should focus on, are they?”

“Unfortunately not.”

They stayed silent for a few moments longer before Mellario asked, “If one of the keys to defeating the Nameless’ Agent is manipulating water in solid forms… how exactly are our children supposed to learn that?”

Ellaria and Nayara booth pulled faces at that. “We live in a desert,” the Orphan of the Greenblood flatly said the thing they were all thinking.

Ellaria sighed, rubbing a hand over her face, a habit she had sadly picked up from her husband. “Perhaps a trek up some of the Red Mountains would be in order?” she halfheartedly suggested.

“I can foresee quite a few issues with that,” Mellario sighed. “Perhaps you and Oberyn could take your Sand Snakes with them and no one so much as blink an eye, but as for Arianne or others Mother Rhoyne will bless in the future…”

“Perhaps we will not need snow and ice,” Nayara said slowly, a contemplative look on her face. When the other two gave her confused looks, she elaborated, “There is a tale of a deliriously hot Summer the Rhoynar experienced millennia ago. There is mention that water wizards managed to manipulate the Rhoyne to help cool the people down and help them survive the heat. Perhaps if they can learn how to do that, the same theory would apply to snow and ice?”

“Perhaps it would, but I would prefer to find out for certain before the day- or rather, the _night_ of reckoning comes.”

There was one possible way to check on whether that would apply to snow and ice besides choosing to hiking up a mountain that may not even have any snow… but Ellaria was not looking forward to possibly being forced to suggest it in the future. She herself found the idea somewhat distasteful, and that would be nothing compared to the rest of her family.

She didn’t have to say anything thankfully, for Dorea woke up and started fussing, giving her an opportunity to stand up and leave before her two cousins could wake up. “I’ll take her back to my rooms. I will see the both of you later.”

After short farewells, she did just that. Her youngest kept fussing as they walked down the hall, but thankfully stopped when they got to their rooms to find the only man that belonged to their branch of their family laying face down on a chaise.

For a brief moment, Ellaria wondered if he had drunk a little too much- she had seen Areo Hotah enter the solar he and Doran had congregated in with a couple bottles of wine- but the way he shot up and walked towards them when their daughter called out and reached for him proved that wrong.

Once Dorea was happily settled in her father’s arms, Ellaria rose an eyebrow at him. “Did you drink far too much of your brother’s wine and he kicked you out?” she asked with a smirk.

Oberyn snorted, most of his attention on their daughter. “More like we ran out of wine and I didn’t feel like waiting for Areo to bring more,” he said as they walked back to the chaise he had been laying on.

Ellaria sighed as she leaned against him, gladly accepting the warmth he brought her. “I guess even the Prince of Dorne is allowed his moments,” she said softly.

“After this news, he definitely is,” came her love’s equally as soft reply.

They didn’t need words to know that they shared the same feelings on the subject. Not after all the years they had been through together.

Which was why Ellaria chose to change the subject as they watched Dorea coo over the colorful patterns on one of their blankets. “You know, I’m not getting any younger.”

Oberyn snorted again, turning amused eyes on her. “Don’t say that, you’re making me feel old.”

“You _are_ about four moons older than I am,” she said dryly, smiling at his look of mock annoyance. “I bring it up because perhaps I should forgo moon tea. My body is well recovered from this one’s birth,” she said, reaching out to tickle Dorea’s chin and getting a sweet giggle for her actions, “and we have talked about having even more children.”

Her love’s smile turned bittersweet at that, stroking their daughter’s soft hair. “Having a younger sister so close in age would be a boon for her,” he whispered.

Ellaria smiled at him and clasped one of his hands with her own. “It would. Though I am unsure if we should wait until we are home, for I do not know where Sunspear’s betting pool currently stands, and I would hate playing into their hands.”

Oberyn laughed at that, Dorea echoing her father, two sounds she would never tire of hearing.

“That is certainly something we do not wish to do,” he said playfully, leaning over to give her a kiss on the lips. “Perhaps we should find Nym. She does tend to know about these things.”

“That she does. She would make wonderful Master of Whispers, wouldn’t she my love?”

“That she would, and I am very glad that she is on our side. She would make a fearsome enemy.”

Ellaria’s smile grew wider as she listened to the pride in his voice. “She’s your daughter, my love, a daughter of Dorne. There was no way she would not be as fierce as all of her ancestors.”

“You helped quite a bit with that,” Oberyn returned, kissing her again before leaning over to whisper in her ear. “What do you say we find Nym or one of the other snakelings and let them entertain this one while we get some _practice_ in?”

“We need practice?” she whispered back, stroking his arm sensually before snatching their daughter away from him and striding to the door before he could react. “Oby, I do not wish to practice. What use is practice? I much prefer action. I would have thought you would know that about me,” she mockingly pouted at him, subtly swaying her hips as she strode out the door.

Her love laughed as he followed her. “Considering your strict regimen of moontea and other contraceptives, I bow to your opinion on this subject, love.”

“I would hope you would, for I’m the one that decides when you can join me in bed, my handsome viper!” she tossed back, grinning at him.

“And I would never dream of denying you that right, my lovely serpent who ensnared me from the moment our eyes met!”

“Can you two not?”

Of course, their fun was ruined by two of the girls walking in on them. Myriah and Sarella both stared at them with disgusted looks on their faces, obviously disgruntled at being forced to witness this yet again.

Ellaria simply smiled at her daughters before handing off Dorea to Sarella. “Can you entertain your sister, please?”

The two girls exchanged looks before Myriah admitted, “We were planning to go out with Obara and Nym.”

“Then take some guards with you and bring your baby sister!” Oberyn said, leaning against the wall and smirking at them.

Ellaria nodded, going back to her husband and tucking her hand into his arm before leading him off. “Thank you, sweetlings!” she called out before they left to have some fun. They wouldn’t mind once they found out they’d be big sisters again considering how much they had doted over the three younger siblings they already had.

And considering how it had taken less than a fortnight of trying before Lia, Obella, and Dorea had all been conceived, it would likely happen sooner rather than later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shorter chapter. I had writer's block, and also I feel like we need this somewhat filler chapter before more plot stuff happens next chapter.
> 
> If you're curious about Norvos' bells, they do in fact have names and sounds: Noom, with a deep sound; Narrah, with a strong sound; Nyel, with a higher pitched sound.  
> The bells basically govern life in Norvos. Mellario actually found the lack of it somewhat disconcerting when she moved to Dorne.
> 
> I don't think the Summer Isles cannonically have any tales about the Long Night, but given how the Rhoyne was only said to freeze to where it meets the Selhoru and the islands are well south of them I doubt they'd have the same kind of legends as other places.
> 
> Am I hinting at something regarding learning how to manipulate snow? I don't know, am I? >:3
> 
> Doran needed a drink. He's learned a lot of things the last few days, let him have this. Next chapter won't really help either. Please let him rest.
> 
> You know, it won't happen for a few years in story, but I've actually toyed with the idea of having Oberyn and Ellaria get another child for an even ten. They seem like the kind of people that would be pleased with that amount!
> 
> Finally, can you tell I desperately want more Oberyn/Ellaria content?


End file.
